


The Long Campaign

by starryeyedsea



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: F/M, Political, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-27
Updated: 2012-08-31
Packaged: 2017-11-13 00:11:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/497215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedsea/pseuds/starryeyedsea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After hitting a roadblock in her career, Relena makes the decision to run for President for ESUN.  However, an unexpected reunion with Heero and mysterious threats to her life pose a serious risk to Relena's plans and visions for ESUN's future.  Can Relena succeed in becoming the first President of ESUN?  Who is behind these new threats on her life?  And most of all, can her and Heero finally figure out their feelings for each other before all hell breaks loose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hiddencait](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddencait/gifts).



> There was a fanmix made for this fic by hiddencait. You can find the fanmix [ here.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/496516%22)

_It's finally over._

That was the first thought that crossed Heero's mind as he came to. He opened his eyes only to squint at the sunlight peeking through the window. The sounds of birds chirping outside and the beeping of the heart rate monitor at his bedside was the only thing that clued him in exactly where he was.

He was in a hospital in Earth. 

He slowly brought himself up and put a hand to head as he tried to recall just how he had ended up here. There had been the battle with Wufei, the penetrating Mariemeia's fortress, and a strange sense of warmth that he couldn't quite place but so was most of the rest of it. He must have passed out from the impact mixed with exhaustion.

That said he needed to get out of here, there was stuff he needed to do. He left Wing Zero alone, who knew what would happen if someone else got their hands on it even if Heero was pretty sure it was destroyed. He couldn't take that chance, not if he didn't…

The thoughts running through his brain were suddenly silenced when he turned to his right and noticed the sleeping figure next to him.

Sprawled over the table by his bed was Relena Darlian, her hair only loosely tied back and her clothes still riddled with dust and soot from the collapse of the fortress.

_It's finally over._

That was right, that was why he had remembered those words. She had said them, to him. Right before he had passed out, in her arms. Without any effort his eyes softened at her. 

'Relena.' 

He must have said her name aloud because it was then that her eyes flew open. 

"Oh you're awake," she said, "I'll call a doctor."

"That won't be necessary," he said.

She looked unconvinced but moved her finger away from the call button.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked, "I didn't think you would be out this long."

"How long?" he asked, he hadn't even thought to check the time.

"About 15 hours I would say, honestly I was surprised you were still here when I came in, I expected to come into an empty bed and a surprised nurse. But you were here," she said.

"I have to go, Wing Zero…" Heero started not really acknowledging her words but Relena interrupted him.

"It's completely destroyed," Relena said, "Quatre told me to tell you. He'll take care of the clean up even though he said it seemed like all the important bits were destroyed."

"You talked with Quatre?" he asked.

"We met briefly," she said, "the other pilots are fine. So are Noin and my brother."

They paused. Heero had nothing really to say that. It would've felt weird for him to really felt worried for the other pilots. If he made it through than certainly they had.

"She's okay too," Relena said breaking the silence and Heero's brows creased in confusion.

"Mariemeia," Relena said, answering his unasked question, "she'll probably be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life but she'll live. Une has decided to take her in. Apparently Dekim Barton was the only casualty of the entire affair."

"So I didn't kill her," Heero said, mostly to himself.

"No, you didn't," Relena said, "you and everyone were amazing. Everyone rose up and protested the uprising. It was truly inspiring."

"It's over?" Heero said.

Relena looked at him and gave a smile.

"Yes, it is."

They don't talk but Heero looked forward. It did feel final. There was no Gundam, no enemy, just himself.

Himself and his memories.

"No."

"What?" Relena asked as she looked to him.

"It's not over," he said, "it never will be, not while I'm here."

He doesn't look at her and she doesn't reply. He just stared straight ahead at the wall. This battle was over, and maybe they were over for real. But the memories, the acts that he had committed in his brief but painful life were still very much with him. 

The sudden rustling of the sheets and sudden weight on the bed brought him out of his reverie and he looked to see Relena sitting on the bed next to him. His breath caught. 

"Maybe not," she said, "but even if it isn't, is it something that you have to face on your own? It's not all up to you."

He doesn't answer.

"That has been what I've thought," she said, "maybe true peace is unattainable for the entire world but I can't believe that it isn't possible for you. That has been why…"

She trailed off, and looked down. He whispered her name again, but is stopped from saying anything further when she put a hand over his. His eyes met hers and there was a resolve in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. It was this determination, this surety of hers that he was never quite able to deal with.

"I promise," she said, "I will make sure there is world where you can live. Where you don't have to feel burdened with all this on your own," she said, "your battles are over."

With that she stood and looked up at him.

"I should probably go," she said, "I have a lot of work to do. I won't ask you to stay or even say good bye. You should just go, I'll take care of everything and make sure there are no questions asked."

"Relena," he said.

"You may not believe it is over Heero," she said, "but you can trust me. I'll fight to maintain and build this world that you fought for. What was it you told me before you fought my brother that one time? Oh right, Believe in me."

She smiled at him, and with a wave she swiftly walked out of the room, leaving Heero alone staring at the spot where she stood.

_Believe in me._

 

Relena walked out of the hospital and right as she reached the curb she stopped and looked back.

'It's my turn,' she thought, 'I'm going to protect you now."


	2. Chapter 2

Breath in, Breath Out. Relena kept telling herself this as she mentally went over her what she planned to say.

Today was going to be the day, she felt it. She gripped the packet in her hands tightly. It was her proposal for the direction that she felt that the Foreign Minister's office should proceed in for the next decade or so. It was ambitious, she knew, but she had to start. She had been working 10 years for this and she wasn't going to fail now.

'I'm one step closer. That world that I dream about, I can almost feel it,' she mentally told herself.

The last 10 years had been a bit of a learning curve for her, and while she had done all she could as the Vice Foreign Minister to ESUN, she had now reached her limits. She was ready to move on, and with the rumor that Foreign Minister Paul Hayworth would be announcing his retirement soon Relena had come to the conclusion that pretty much everyone else had come to.

She was going to take his place. 

And things were going to be different. While E.S.U.N's fledgling democracy was strong and there had been no real threats to stability since Mariemeia and the Barton Foundation, it still had several holes and areas for improvement. Despite the fact that all officials were democratically elected, most of the Senate and people in positions of power came from the old era. The one of aristocrats and oligarchs, Relena knew that this was not conducive to the free and open world she imagined was needed for true stability. This system also made it rife with nepotism and corruption.

It was still difficult to push relatively new ideas and progress to people so old and set in their ways. But that was what the world needed, Relena had seen. This couldn't be a government for the few, and already through her travels on both Earth and in Space she had heard grumblings of discontent.

As Foreign Minister she could answer that, help break ground and hopefully foster a trust. It was what she was banking on after all. 

Yes, once she was Foreign Minister she could handle it all. There had been a time when she thought holding her father's former position would be enough, but that had been when Relena had believed that just resolving not to fight and to come to treaties would be enough. No, in the past ten years Relena had seen that the factors were much more complex than that. Economics, health, education, and the environment were all interconnected. You can not have true peace without addressing all the factors that contribute to it. 

Relena knew that just following in her parent's footsteps would not be enough.

She had to surpass them.

"Minister Darlian? Foreign Minister Hayworth will see you now," the secretary said breaking Relena from her reverie.

She nodded and proceeded to walk into the office. Paul Hayworth was a tall lanky balding man; like most members of the government he was in his late sixties, and had some connection to the former aristocracy. That said he was at least a decent person and Relena had had no problems working under him for the past 10 years, and thus couldn't really hold those ties against him. 

"Ah Relena, sorry to keep you waiting," Hayworth said apologetically from where he sat at his desk. He motioned her to take the seat across from her, "I was just on the phone with the President."

"It was no problem," Relena replied civilly, "you were the one who called me here."

"Yes indeed I did call you here, so allow me to cut to the chase, how long have you been working here?" Hayworth said looking down at the files on his desk.

"It's been ten years," Relena said.

"Ah yes, as long as this government has been formed you've been here. You've done very well," Hayworth said, "Greatly respected, good initiatives, your record is quite exemplary if I do say so myself."

Relena nodded even as she found his praise a bit tedious.

"Yes," she said, "I've enjoyed it."

"I'm glad to hear that, I've called you in because I'm sure you have heard by now that the President will not be seeking a third term in office."

"I have," Relena said, "I'm glad, I believe a two term limit is a good precedent to set."

"Yes it is," Hayworth said, "I believe once one has been in a position for as long as he has it is time to change it up. That way things don't go stagnant. It is for that reason that I will also step down when the President leaves office."

Relena nodded.

"Of course, I've told the President this and for that reason we discussed who would serve as my replacement."

Relena's heart leapt at the thought. Here it was.

"Since you are the only one who has been in this office as long as I have I feel that your input into this matter is very important."

"The next Foreign Minister should be someone with vision," Relena said, "someone who is willing to foster dialogue not only for compromise and remediation but progress as well."

"Yes, I agree, and with your experience here I'm hoping that you can assist with that," Hayworth said, "which is why I would like your opinion on Graham Whitlock."

Relena froze.

"Graham Whitlock?" she asked.

"Yes, I have suggested him to the President as my successor."

Relena was speechless for a moment. She knew who Graham Whitlock was. He was a well respected North American senator. She had dealt with him on a number items such as the early proposals for the Mars Project. He was a decent enough politician, but Relena couldn't picture him as Foreign Minister. Not as someone before her.

"You want Graham Whitlock to be Foreign Minister?" Relena asked still incredulously, trying to bite back the scream rising up within her.

"Yes, why do you disapprove?"

"No, he just..he was just not who I was expecting," Relena said, and mentally chided herself for the well of emotions rising up within her.

"I don't know of anyone better suited…" Hayworth stopped when he noted the look on Relena's face. He then sighed.

"Relena, did you expect to…"

Relena looked up at him mortified. Had she given herself away?

"No," she lied, trying desperately to keep the waver out of her voice so as not tip him off.

"Because, while you are very accomplished, and I can't say that you wouldn't be capable it is just. I don't think it is wise," Hayworth said.

Relena stopped there. The disappointment she felt suddenly turned to anger.

"Why wouldn't it be," she said, her tone flat and even.

"While it is true you've been here for quite awhile, considering your age, I just feel there is someone better suited for the position."

She bristled. How had she not seen this coming? This was not the first comment she had ever heard about her age, but coming from her superior, who had never treated her any differently just because she happened to be young.

"Let me get this straight," Relena said, "you're not considering me as your successor has nothing to do with my abilities but has to do with how young I am?"

"Not exactly, Relena," Hayworth said, "but while you certainly are more capable than anyone else your age, you still lack a bit in the experience department. There is an image of authority that this government has to hold to."

"And I don't fit your image," Relena said the irritation and dismay clear in her voice, "I've worked harder than anyone. The Mars Project, the Preventers, I helped build those things from the ground up. You can't say I don't have the experience needed to run this office. I helped build it."

Hayworth sighed

"Relena, please, this isn't really up for debate," Hayworth said, "honestly I just don't think you're ready and it has nothing to do with your youth. You are very good in front of a crowd. You can give a speech and argue well for complicated issues and principles that I don't doubt you understand. But you aren't accessible. In your work now, you can be a bit distant a bit formal because all you have to do is broker treaties with people who you don't know very well. But to run this office. Relena you have to trust others to work with, you can't keep everyone at arm's length. "

Relena was quiet.

"Maybe in a few years you can learn this, though to be frank over the last ten years it seems like you have grown even more distant than you were at 15. It isn't because of your youth Relena, but I think your lack of experience with people. In your position now all you have to worry is about mediating problems. You only have to know the people you work to the extent that you are able to help them. But being able to lead this office requires more. It requires a person who can be accessible and open. You are too distant Relena, too wrapped up in your ideas that you have to remember to come back and touch the real world for awhile. That is why I can't consider you as my successor. You could be 65 and the same way and I would not have selected you."

His words were frank and cut to the core. Was she really that lacking? Did she really not understand anything? All this time she had thought she had been going above and beyond to find that she had been missing something important.

Hayworth lowered his head.

"Listen, I know these things can be hard to hear, and I probably should have sat down and discussed these things with you sooner, but I think this is the best for you. Now I realize with the expectations that you had that maybe remaining as the Vice Foreign Minister may be difficult for you but I do hope you consider staying. You are a tremendous asset to this office and to ESUN and it would be a shame to lose you, However if you find that it would be too uncomfortable for you to work under anyone that is appointed in the coming months I can understand if you want to step away."

Relena suddenly felt like a fool. Even if Hayworth's reasons for not selecting her had nothing to do with her age, she realized that her reaction probably hadn't helped matters. Now she had backed both herself and him into a corner.

"I don't know that I can give you an answer," Relena said, "I do apologize for what I said earlier. It was uncalled for and rude of me to suggest that my age alone would not be the factor in this. I am sure Graham Whitlock or whoever you select will do a fine job."

"Listen," Hayworth said, "you have a trip to the L1 Cluster coming up?"

"I do, I leave tomorrow actually," Relena said.

"How about I give you until then to give me your answer with regards to your intent to stay or leave," Hayworth said, "if you say nothing upon return I will assume that you wish to stay with us."

"I think I can manage that," Relena said, "I will give you my answer when I come back."

With that she said good bye and left the office. She barely acknowledged the secretary as she walked out into the corridor and headed back to her own office. Her head lost in thought.

While she couldn't necessarily refute Hayworth's criticism of her, she was distant with everyone she worked with to an extent, she also wasn't quite willing to work in the same position for the next 20 years, and as valid his criticism was she wondered whether had she been a few years older whether this distance she kept would really have made all that much the difference. She couldn't tell. Either way, she wasn't sure she was quite ready until or whomever above her decided she was ready.

She was so deep in thought about what her options exactly were that she almost missed the sound of her assistant, Nancy, calling her name.

"I'm sorry, Nancy," she said, "what was it."

"I was just saying that Alex Garter of the Progress Party is here to see you," Nancy said, "I've already sent him into your office. If you want I can send him away."

"I don't have anything urgent scheduled do I?" Relena asked though she wasn't really in the mood to meet with anyone at the moment, but it would be rude.

"No, just standard meetings before you leave tomorrow, but they aren't scheduled until 2."

"Alright, I'll meet with him, but come in and remind me if this ends up running too long," Relena said and then after the thought, "on second thought, with the exception of the last gathering you can cancel all the meetings, just send me the documents I'll need for tomorrow."

"Right ma'am," the assistant said and Relena walked into her office.

A middle aged man stood at perusing through her bookshelves.

"You're Alex Garter of the Progress Party, I presume, I hope you haven't been waiting too long," she said.

"Ah Minister Darlian! No, it was no trouble," he said, "I'm glad that you were able to meet me on such short notice."

"You can call me Relena," she said flashing back to Hayworth's words about her being distant, "there isn't a need to be so formal if you're already going through my things."

"Yes of course, Relena," he said.

Relena walked to her desk and motioned him to sit across from her.

"Now, Mr. Garter," she said, "what is it that you wanted to see me about that. It must be important going by the fact that you didn't schedule this beforehand."

"I'd actually been meaning to," he said, "but your office has been giving me the turnaround for awhile. I had heard of your distaste for political parties so I am not surprised. The only way to meet with you was to do it suddenly like this."

Relena pursed her lips. It was true that she didn't quite understand the political party structure. Currently there were three major parties in E.S.U.N.'s government: The Progress Party (the party to left that was in favor of E.S.U.N. taking on a more progressive role in providing services and rules for the entirety of the Earth Sphere to follow), The Alliance Party (more middle of the road, were more concerned with sovereignty of each of E.S.U.N.'s states but believed in overarching things such as common security, healthcare, and diplomacy), and The Republic Party (more conservative, believe that E.S.U.N. should be severely limited in its powers particularly in areas of economics, strong promoters of top down economic strategies and free markets). Relena had agreed with at least bits of some of their platforms but had made a conscious decision to remain neutral on where she stood. As a non-elected official having a party affiliation was less important than it would be for others.

"I just don't want to seem like I'm favoring one party or another," she said, "I didn't mean to give you the run around though, but I do have my secretary vet things like for the sake of expediency. It seems she was a bit too overly proactive though.

"A smart tactic I say," he said, "but I am actually not here on behalf of the Progress Party today. I'm here with a proposal. Its with regards to the upcoming election."

Relena looked up at him. 

"With the current President not seeking another term, everyone is in quandary of who should fill his shoes," he said, "if you think about it this election will be the first test for E.S.U.N.'s democracy."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Relena said, "but I'm not sure I understand what this has to do with me."

"Well truth be told, I'm sure you've heard about the recent scandals re: bribery and corruption, even ten years E.S.U.N. could be losing the trust people have for it," he said.

"Most of those scandals have been small," Relena said, "and that is why the President named that Commission. To insure that we police ourselves. Though honestly, shouldn't the democratic process do that itself."

"One would hope," Garter said, "but that is still new. I think a good thing to bolster the public's faith in the system is to give them a candidate whom they can trust and rely on without fear of corruption."

"I suppose," she said, mulling it over.

"What I am saying Miss Relena," Garter cut in, "is that have you ever thought you could be that candidate?"

Relena looked up at him.

"Me? Running for President?" Relena was a bit struck by the idea.

It wasn't that Relena had never considered running for office, but that prospect had always seemed distant to her. Something that she would get to eventually, and she wouldn't have started by running for the highest office.

"You do realize I am 25," she said, thinking of Hayworth's rejection of her earlier.

"Yes, but I don't think age matters when the person in question is Relena Peacecraft."

She flinches a bit at the name.

"Please, I think you mean Darlian," she said.

"Right, I had forgotten that that must be a bit trying to hear that, but the fact of the matter is that that is who you are to the people. You are Relena Peacecraft, Former Queen of the World and Princess of Sanq," he said.

"If you think you can convince me to run by bringing up those things then you don't really know me that well," she said.

"I am not saying they are your best qualities, but have you never thought to use them to gain an advantage while you can," Garter said, "come a time people will forget your accomplishments and you will not have the political goodwill you have now. I say use them to capitalize before it is too late."

Relena is quiet.

"But I see that was probably a poor tactic," Garter said, "But I was just trying to make a point that your youth can be an advantage. Do you believe that because you are 25 that you are unfit to be President."

Relena recoiled at that, though it was mostly because she remembered the conversation from earlier. How could it be that she was turned down to be Foreign Minister but then offered a possible path to the Presidency all in one day?

"No," she said, "but to be honest this is a big proposal of yours. Also I do have reservations about representing any of the political parties."

"Yes that is a concern," Garter said, "to be honest I am not actually here on part of the Party, as I am more of a strategist for then a believer. But I will say, that if anyone has a shot at winning the presidency on an independent ticket."

"If you don't mind me asking, but what is your reasoning behind asking me this?" Relena asked curious, "What is it that you have to gain?"

"I care deeply about this government," Garter said, "I am tired of serving self serving politicians who only think about their own position. It would be an honor to serve you."

Relena didn't believe him. His praise sounded fake to her ear, but at the same time her brain had caught onto the idea of being president like a wildfire. There was so much she could do. All her vision as Foreign Minister could be amplified to degrees that she hadn't even thought to imagine. So much she could do.

But still she couldn't be hasty. It was tempting to just say yes but Relena realized her confidence had been shaken and she had to make sure she thought this through properly. 

Even so, she decided to not prod Garter's motive in hope to keep the option open.

"It is still a decision I can't make lightly," she said, "but I shall consider it. It seems my own position here has become a bit precarious. I am leaving for space in the morning, but I think I will have answer for you upon my return."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said, "I shall await your word, and hopefully look forward to working with you."

When he walked out, Relena turned to stare out the window.

_Me, President._

And then the wheels started turning.

_That world, I can see it._


	3. Chapter 3

Relena loved to travel. Over the past few months she hadn't had occasion to engage in any trips to anywhere other than the periodic visit with her mother. The truth was she hadn't been in space for almost ten months, and she was looking forward to returning. These trips into space were so reminiscent of her time with her father that she savored them, particularly in the parts in transit.

The flight would also be a good time for her to reflect on everything that had occurred the day before. She had tried to imagine herself as president, she had even stayed up most of the night drafting proposed policies and platforms that she could take. Even in a particularly giddy moment of fantasy, she had sketched logos. The more she thought about it the more she thought that she should take it.

But there were still doubts. Even though Relena did not feel herself incapable of being President, the whole thing felt premature. Weren't there other things she needed to accomplish before going ahead with this? Wasn't this all going too fast?

But her conversation with Hayworth had cemented some ideas in her head. That by his words if she wanted to advance she would have to wait for possible another 10 years. And it was true that she was ready to move on from her position as vice foreign minister. What if this was her only option? If she didn't take it she would be stuck in the same place for years far outlasting her usefulness in the position. 

"Use this time to think on it Relena," she said to herself once the flight had taken off, "get a clear head and when you come back you will do what you have to do."

The shuttle flew into Colony ll1765 at what was 8:00 am Colony Time. The Colony Governor as well as the local representatives were there to greet her. This colony was one of the larger and older of the existing colonies. Relena was there to attend a conference about resource distribution among colonies, because like on Earth it had seemed that with the opening of the economy as well as certain market forces and had begun to build a gap between the larger, richer colonies then the smaller, poorer ones. 

Certain discontent had risen, particularly among the younger population, about the fact that most of the decisions about the distribution seemed to be coming from Earth. Many of them questioned how the colonies could maintain some sovereignty to make their own decisions if Earth was pulling the strings, and how there seemed to be very little recourse. Minor movements had begun to spring up on universities urging people to protest at government offices. So far all movements were reforming in nature and the protests were peaceful, however Relena could see how some of the representatives seemed unsettled. 

"It has become a nuisance," Representative Long said in the meeting, "these rallies are disruptive. What do these students hope to accomplish. Surely we must quiet them before this leads to revolution."

Relena balked at the sentence. Such an overreaction to what seemed to her to be a simple aspect of the system.

"I think it is a bit premature to even worry about that," she said, "no one of any sort is talking revolution. But if you are truly worried about this becoming more severe, wouldn't it be rational for you to address their concerns? It is this misunderstanding that fosters distrust."

They all nodded.

"But pardon me ministers, their concerns are a bit muddled. They aren't things that we can provide," Governor Takeuchi said, "the problem is that so far their protests have been vague and we do not know how to address them. Their rallies just seem to be shouting to me."

"Is that so?" she asked, "have you ever bothered to attend a rally?" Relena asked.

"Of course not," Takeuchi said, "they are too insecure."

"It seems to me, that most of your problems are coming from your end," Relena said, "no wonder their angry. One tends to get angry if they think no one is listening to them." 

"So you're saying we should go to a rally?" Long asked, "but there is no way we can secure it in time."

Relena is quiet.

"If you want, I can attend in your place," she said.

"But…."

"Of course I will not be attending as Vice Minister Darlian. I shall go as just a regular university student," she said.

Relena felt the whole room take in its breath. It was a ludicrous position, but to Relena it made sense. She goes undercover, then there isn't a need to secure it for a public official. She would go take counts of their thoughts, and come out and the office would respond, preferably with a public forum of some time. Relena could then bring that back to E.S.U.N. for possible developing policy for them. 

"But…"

"I don't know if you gentlemen have noticed, but most of these students seem to be around my age," she said, "with the proper attire I think it would be no matter for me to blend in."

They said nothing, so Relena took it as an assent.

"Very well, I shall attend the rally and bring back a report. And then we will respond and address what was said. If it is not too much trouble I can trust you all to set up a forum?" Relena said.

"Of course."

"Well then that is settled, now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I think I have a rally to prepare for," Relena said.

 

Gwinter University was the second oldest university in the colonies and like many of its contemporaries had a history of specializing things such as engineering and sciences. It was small and most of the students who attended were from well to do families. Most jobs in the colonies were manual labor of actually working on colony systems directly and didn't necessarily require a full college degree as the systems were easy to use and just needed a bit of training to understand.

However, with the founding of E.S.U.N. the university had begun to open programs and fields of study that weren't geared towards colony maintenance design. In fact just two years prior, Gwinter University was the first university space to bestow a degree in music to a student. It was cheered as a sign of success.

It was also the birthplace of the current protests against E.S.U.N. 

Heero Yuy walked through the college campus. To most anyone, he looked to be just the typical student. But there were tiny things that gave him away. His posture, the fact that he never stopped to acknowledge anyone else in the area. The fact that he walked through the courtyard at a such brisk pace that one couldn't help but wonder where in the world he was going.

He was attending the rally of course. Not because he had any stake in the outcome. As far as he was concerned most of the students who were engaged in these rallies were spoiled rich kids, who had never really had to even deal with the ideas of lack of resources in any practical way. It was romantic idea to them, a cause they could champion without ever really questioning their own lives and roles. 

No he was here on a job.

In the 9 years since the end of his career as a Gundam Pilot, Heero had been something of an aimless traveller. He would take aimless jobs as he moved from place to place, mostly hands on jobs like shuttle technician, maintenance technician, mechanic, he was even a space debris collector at one point. 

He had been hired as security of all things by the university. Just a random plain clothes security guard to assure that the students were safe during the rally. It wasn't promising to be the most fulfilling of jobs but it would give him the money to get where he needed to go next.

Not that, Heero Yuy really needed to go anywhere. It was just if Heero stayed in one place for too long he would begin to get anxious and then he would start to remember.

And things didn't go well for him when he started to remember.

War was over, Heero had found out, but not for him. Never for him.

A crowd had already gathered at the field just outside the administration building. There were still technicians on stage preparing for the speakers. Heero mulled about for a bit. Nothing looked the least bit out of order or unsafe. Just a bunch of idealistic college kids who thought this little group would lead to a better world.

 _It wouldn't,_ Heero thought, _that world doesn't exist. Even if there is no war, peace still has its problems._

But he kept his mouth shut and did his job, going out of his way to keep his actual interaction with anyone to a minimum. This became harder as the venue began to fill up. Heero bristled. There were too many people, and the soldier in Heero began to comment on how this whole thing had the very real possibility of going wrong real fast. The venue was enclosed for the most part with only slim openings between the building behind the stage and then the main path across from it. It wasn't that it was completely closed off, but with this many people it would be hard to exit if something set everyone into a panic.

 _Calm down,_ he scolded himself mentally. This wasn't a war field. There wouldn't be any need to escape.

He scanned the crowd and then began to move towards the edge to help maintain the exits. It was then that noticed her.

Like himself, on first glance there wasn't really anything that set her a part from any other typical college student. She wore a brown jacket over a pink fitted tee and slim denim blue jeans and sneakers. She was however, unlike most of the attendees, wearing a hat and sunglasses. Her long blond hair was also striking, since most of the women in attendance either had short to medium length hair or had their hair tied back. 

But even so, what struck Heero was the way she stood. She was straight, arms side, and facing forward, with her chin slightly turned up. There was something in her air that made him take noticed.

She looked regal. 

Instinctively he moved in closer to get a better look and as he did he became hit with something else.

He recognized her. He would've recognized her anywhere.

Relena…

He was just about to reach her when a voice came over the loud speaker that the rally was going to begin and he stopped. They began to speak but Heero didn't hear a word. He just stood still never taking his eyes off her. Almost in a trance.

And it was there they remained the whole time. Every once in a while he would glance to take note but then his eyes would always come back to her. 

It was this meeting, that Heero would think later, that meeting was the moment that his entire world came crashing down.

 

Relena thought the speakers at the rally were actually good. She didn't know what the representatives were going on about the protests being unclear or that unorganized. They made points about keeping the government accountable and the inequity of who received what and the lack of opportunity. 

_Is it that they're lazy?_ Relena wondered, _Or is it that they just don't want to accept that the people they serve have a point?_

To be honest, Relena was mostly just enjoying the feeling. Here she was free, for once she was in a place where she wasn't the focus. It felt nice. To feel like for this one moment, she was just a normal 25 year old among her peers. She often didn't get to experience this, most of the people she worked with were at least twice her age. 

This was the life that she lost 10 years ago. And even though for the most part Relena had no regrets about the direction of her life, she felt a bit bitter.

The final speaker for the rally was the most boisterous and the only one who came close to sounding in the least bit aggressive in terms of disgust with the regime. He urged the attendees to be vigilant and to not give up, and that resistance was sometimes necessary. He held up a fist and Relena had to pull back a laugh. The action was manipulative and a bit comical, but it obviously struck a chord. 

However, Relena was not the only one taking it lightly. The mood of the area slightly changed when a commotion came from behind. Before Relena could really grasp what was going on sounds of smoke bombs began to erupt, and she heard the sirens of police.

The entire space became chaotic in an instance. There were smoke and lights and yelling. It took a few seconds before Relena could even glean what was going on. There were police at the entrance to the courtyard with riot gear and shields on.

"What the…?" she said to herself but was soon pushed by the people around her. She could hear the head of police shouting into a megaphone.

The officials it had seemed to Relena, had decided to shut the whole thing down.

But Relena didn't have time to think of the ramifications of this because she was being pushed into every which direction. She tried to yell at everyone to remain calm, but to be honest it wasn't going to do any good. There were just too many people. Her eyes became cloudy, and the loud booms from every which way kept her disoriented. 

She had managed to get lost even further into the crowd when she felt a strong hand grip her upper arm. Another arm suddenly came around her shoulder and began to guide her through the crowd. The smoke mixed with the tint of her sunglasses obscured her helpers face but her heart had begun to race at the touch.

But whoever it was was really adept at this, because it wasn't long before they had cleared the streets and made their way to a cleared patch of street.

Her guide let go and she stopped and stood for a moment. She removed her hat and glasses.

"Damn them," she said out loud, still not facing the person who had helped her out, "What were they thinking, an action like that was totally unnecessary, people could've gotten hurt. Thanks for helping me…."

She turned to offer her hand in thanks but stopped when she saw just exactly who had helped her.

"Heero…"

 

The news would later report that someone (it was insinuated that the organizers were possibly behind this) had brought a weapon into the rally and the cops had stepped into protect the students. 

It was never mentioned that the Vice Foreign Minister had been in attendance.

 

They had moved to a local cafe pretty soon after that. They said nothing, though Relena could feel herself reeling. Of all the people she would've expected to meet at a protest, Heero Yuy was not one of them. 

She hadn't seen or heard from him in over 5 years. To be honest she didn't quite know what her feelings were doing at the moment. A mixture of elation, surprise, curiosity, and anger she thought. 

They ducked into a local cafe and took a seat at a table. She waited while he went and got coffee and had to keep herself from laughing.

This was definitely not something she had been expecting. When he handed her her cup (a vanilla latte) and sat with hers, she began to finally speak up.

"What were you doing there?" she asked, "you don't strike me as an activist."

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, "what were you doing there Relena. Where was your…?

"Where was my what?" Relena asked, "my security detail? You know I can go places without a whole entourage."

"That's not what I meant," he said, "you could've been hurt."

There is a touch of something that Relena can place but she doesn't think on it.

"I was undercover," she said, "I wanted to know what the protests were about so I attended as a student. I don't think a normal college student has 3 assistants and 7 bodyguards. Do you?"

"That's reckless Relena," he said, "you should've sent someone else."

"I don't exactly trust anyone else," she said and he stopped and stared her her.

She said nothing, rather just focused on sipping her latte. Even though his words somewhat irritated her, she was still battling to calm her heart down. He stopped talking then. And they lapsed into a silence. She put down the cup and looked at him then.

"Besides, I asked you first," she said, "what were you doing there?"

"I was working," he said.

"Working?" she asked.

"I was a supervisor for the university. A security assistant," he said, "its just temporary. I wasn't expecting you to be there if you were wondering."

She didn't say anything.

"It's hard to imagine," she said and at his look of bewilderment she continued, "that job doesn't seem like something you would take."

"It's money," he said, "it was only this once. I need it so I can move on."

"Move on?"

"I've been on this colony too long," he said.

"I take it you don't like being anywhere for too long," she said.

He didn't respond so Relena took that as a yes.

"Is it that hard for you?" she asked.

He looked at her strangely for a moment.

"This world. Is it that hard for you to live in it that you always have to move around?"

"It isn't that, but there just isn't a place for me," he said.

She detected nothing in his gaze, but he did avoid eye contact with her. 

_He's suffering,_ she thought, _it's been ten years and he is still fighting._

This thought made her feel a bit like a failure. Her dream, or rather her promise came in. She wanted a world where he wouldn't feel the burden of the past. But that world was still far off. There was nothing she could do as of now to protect him.

She stared into her cup. Her reform, her vision. It could not wait, it could not be put off. If he was suffering and working to live, then she would have to work that much harder. 

There wasn't another 10 years, she realized.

She had to try.

"Can I make one?" she asked willing him to make eye contact with her.

His eyes were still that brilliant shade of blue, but there was a sense of dullness. He was numb to everything.

"Can you make what?"

"A place for you," she said, "I need to ask you something."

He looked at her for a moment.

"Recently," she said, "I'd been making plans, and an opportunity has seemed to jump into my lap. I don't really know what to do with it but I think you could possibly help me."

"I think you would know better about this sort of thing," he said.

"What I'm saying," she said, "I think, my time as the Vice Foreign Minister. I have things I need to do and I would like it if you could help me with that."

"If I were to say run for the President of ESUN," she said, "would you join me?"

 

Heero sat at the desk in the motel room that he had been living in over the past month so and click through a laptop. He tried to keep the thoughts of Relena out of his.

_Would you join me?_

He pushed the question out of his head. It was all too much. Here he had been passing life in the only way he thought was possible and she had thrown him a curveball.

_"To be clear," she said, "I don't necessarily want you there as a bodyguard. But as an advisor of sorts."_

_He stayed silent. He really didn't have anything to add._

_"But honestly," she said, "I want to know what you think. Should I do it or should I pass it by."_

_"You don't need me," he said, still staring into his coffee._

_"What."_

_"You can make that decision on your own," Heero said, "you would know better than me."_

_"It isn't that," she said, "but do you think I can do it. Be honest."_

_Heero looked at her._

_"I think it is worthless to think about that," he said, "if you want to, you can."_

He had meant it of course. He knew here well enough to know that if she wanted something to happen she could make it happen. She was that stubborn.

It bothered him bit that he could admit to that. That he knew her to that degree because it was strange. Over the past ten years he had felt a bit disconnected from the world as a whole, not a part of it. He didn't really deserve to be here after all. Sometimes he would muse on what would happen if he just wholesale disappeared. Just flew off into the ether, never to be heard from again. But by a string of strange coincidences, when he let himself fall a bit into this line of thinking something would bring him back.

She would bring him back.

Her face would appear on a vidscreen, or in a magazine, or he would overhear someone say her name.

It was uncanny. The way that she had wormed her way that deep into his consciousness. And now she had been there, for real. Pulling him back.

"Would you join me."

Heero stared at the laptop. He opened one of the directories and clicked on a file. A file that was the last real remnant of the life he had lead. A little reminder that he grasped on. The familiar code began to string together, and as Heero took it in, one vision came into his head, like a divine command.

_Protect the Queen._


	4. Chapter 4

The mess at the rally had forced Relena to prolong her stay to sort things out. Needless to say things had not gone well for Governor Takeuchi and Representative Long. Suppression of public's right to publicly assemble had been quite the scandal, they both resigned in response and emergency election would be held to determine their successors, the Vice Governor stepped in to help keep operations smooth but to be honest the whole situation was a mess. 

Relena thought ruefully, that this was not just a problem of leadership but of culture. Something else she would need to plan for in the future.

The world she longed for was further than she thought.

_The world doesn't deserve this,_ she thought, _I have to make a change._

She tried to not think too hard on her encounter with Heero. The feelings she felt at their reunion were still too raw. He hadn't given her an answer to whether he would join her. She half expected him to refuse. She had been too impetuous with this, laid something too large.

_You aren't supposed to bring him into this,_ Relena scolded herself, _You can't be a burden to him._

But she still desperately wanted him to come. Who knows if she were to leave now how long it would be before she was able to see him again. It was silly, she knew, holding onto a crush she had harbored since she was 15. But knowing that he was on this colony, that he was doing well, that he thought she could be president, she couldn't keep her heart from skipping a beat.

_Foolish girl. You should know better than to hope for that,_ her inner voice said.

She swore she could still feel his arms around her, guiding her through the maze of people.

When she had settled that everything had stabilized after the mess at the university, Relena finally began to book her return flight. She sent a message containing the time to the motel that Heero had said he was staying at. She hadn't gone to see him though she desperately wanted to. There was no reason to pressure him into a decision. Of course her work had kept her busy anyways.

She arrived at the shuttleport plenty early. The assistant who had accompanied her carried her things through security. A rep from the colony's government office was there to see her off, but Relena was quite curt with him, just giving her the information to contact her re: the results of the election and whatnot.

He was at the gate. Relena didn't notice him until just as she was about to board. 

"You came," she said.

"You're going to do it," he said.

She was quiet, but looked up at him.

"Yes," she said, "this trip showed me a lot of what I need to do it. I'm ready."

"All right," he said.

"So since you're here," and now it is her turn to refuse to meet his eyes, "does that mean you are coming."

"Yes," he said, "until you turn me away, I will be with you."

"Thank you," she said and then walked to the jetway, Heero not far behind.

It had begun.

 

Heero was on Earth for a month before the campaign for Relena's presidency officially started. Of course upon her return Relena was swamped with work. Not only debriefing the happening on the colony but contacting the people she would be working with as well as handing in her resignation as Vice Foreign Minister.

Relena had set him up in a complex not far from the Minister's office. Usually he would've foregone this kind of thing, but he didn't see much of a point in resisting. He was here for her anyways. 

They met at least once every other day even if it was just for five minutes. Some days he would meet her for lunch or brief coffee. Even so they didn't talk. Not about her impending campaign or even just what his role would be. Relena rejected him as a bodyguard, saying there were plenty of people who were more well suited for that kind of thing than he was. 

So for now he just stayed with her as a bit of support, and apparent coffee partner.

It was all a bit strange. Gundam Pilot Heero Yuy, reduced to nothing but a mere coffee date. She didn't even really talk about all the things she was doing. They would just sit in silence. But it wasn't awkward. It was in fact the least awkward Heero Yuy had ever felt in his life when with another person in what could be termed as a normal social situation.

In fact, he slowly began to feel accustomed to it. In its own strange way, these moments were probably the most peaceful times that he could remember. Both on the outside and inside his mind. That said, he did sense very real distance between them. It was like a wall there that strangely had not existed between them before, and what struck him most was that she was the one that had put that there.

Finally one month after arriving on Earth he got the call that he had supposed he'd been waiting for.

"Heero," Relena's voice was breathless over the phone, "I'll need you to come into the office. We're going to officially start tomorrow. I will email you the address. The time is at 8."

"Alright."

"Have I told you thank you for doing this?" she said.

"Yes, but really that's unnecessary," he said.

"You're going to be my security advisor," she said, "at least that is what you are going to be introduced as tomorrow."

"But I take that, that isn't what I'm doing," he said.

"We'll talk about that tomorrow," she said, "but I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Right."

The call ended soon after.

 

The office which would serve as Relena's headquarters throughout the campaign was located on the west end of town. Heero was there early, and upon showing his ID (he had to get a new permanent one for this role, having been used to using forged identities over the past 10 years). There were few people in the office, but just as Heero had suspected Relena was one of them.

"Ah you're here," she said as he knocked on her office door.

"Everything ready?" he asked, it was small talk and unsuited for most of their encounters but it would do here.

"As well as ever," she said, and then the lightness left.

"Listen," she said, "this may seem odd and a bit selfish but here is what I need from you. You're one of my personal assistants, specifically you're going to be my main right hand when I am traveling in space. I know this may seem weird to you anything else would raise suspicion."

"I take it that is mostly a cover?" he questioned though he really already knew her answer.

"Yes," she said, "or maybe more accurately an excuse. To be honest I want you as a consultant. I need to make sure I do this right."

"I don't see how I could help you there, Relena," he said, "this whole situation isn't really my expertise."

"I'm being selfish," Relena said, "but I think your experiences are vastly important. And to be honest you're the only one I trust. The only one I can feel I can rely on in this. Most of these people I am working with are new to me. My campaign director, he's an excellent political strategist but he has been doing most of the hiring. I need something to keep him check."

"Me," Heero said again and Relena smiled apologetically.

"You'll see soon enough, in fact right now even, I believe everyone is here," Relena said as she glanced out the window of her office and into the common area. Heero followed Relena out, there a whole staff of people were gathered. Heero made his way to the back of the room while Relena stayed at the head everyone looked at her waiting for her to speak.

She cleared her throat and turned to a man standing at her left. He wasn't the oldest in the room but he did seem to be the most commanding. By the way, Relena acted, he could guess that this was the political strategist she had been talking about.

"Hello everyone," she said, her voice bright and clear, "I want to thank everyone for being here and your support. I want you all to know that a campaign of this nature is not won by one person alone, but rather by all of us coming together. I wouldn't be running for president if I didn't think I could help further ESUN in its goals for peace, prosperity, and happiness for all its citizens. My vision is for a more open transparent government that works as a servant to its people. My plan is to strengthen the support systems that ESUN it provides including better resource management and distribution between Earth and Colonies, election and corruption reform to keep everyone honest, and to further strengthen the education and healthcare supports that ESUN provides. I'm a big believer in cooperation and so I hope that we can all work to make all these things happen. The next year will be trying, but I believe that we can get through it. I am glad that all of you, each and every one of you is here to share this with me. Now, we have a lot of work, so work hard and Good Luck!"

The room erupted into applause and for one moment Relena's eyes meet Heero's from across the room. Her small private smile that Heero could tell no one else caught was enough to express her gratitude.

_Thank you for being with me._

 

Once the room had settled down from Relena's speech, Heero was brought over for formal introductions. Relena buzzed each name off a hat, there was the marketing director, the finance director, the accountant, a dozen or so of different coordinators and whatnot. There were 3 people that Heero took particular interest. 

First was the aforementioned head political strategist, Alex Garter. He had indeed been the man that was standing to the left of Relena at the beginning of her speech. On closer inspection, Heero could instantly tell why Relena was wary of him. He was a politician through and through.

"Ah so you're Heero Yuy," Garter said, "that is quite the conspicuous name."

"It was given in tribute," Heero lied (though maybe only partially), "it is a standard enough practice in the colonies."

"I'll take your word for it, though imagine what an explosive ticket this would have been had you been the _real_ Heero Yuy," Garter said emphasizing his words. He knew that Heero's name was nothing but an alias.

Next was Sabriella Yvandes, Relena's personal assistant. Obviously, one of few people who would be around Relena at all times. She seemed trustworthy enough though.

Third was Benjamin "Ben" Kangley, Relena's head bodyguard, who seemed to appraise him in the same way Heero had looked upon others. He was a built man. Heero was a bit surprised to learn that Ben was really the only crossover between people who had worked for Relena when she was Vice Foreign Minister and people she had worked with now.

"You're the new personal assistant," Ben said gruffly, "a bit younger than I expected."

"No younger than Miss Relena," Heero said remembering to refer to Relena in a formal manner. 

"I was surprised as well Ben," Garter said cutting in, "but we should trust Miss Relena's judgment."

"Heh," Ben said, but the look he shot Garter indicated to Heero that Garter was not someone that the bodyguard was particularly fond of, "still he's a bit of a runt."

"Can I ask how you met Miss Relena," Garter cut in, "it just seemed a bit odd that she would know someone like you."

Heero smirked. Garter was trying to catch him off guard, get him to release some kind of information that he shouldn't. On one of the few occasions they had talked, they had discussed what Heero's cover story was going to be. He was an old friend from school. He had been an exchange student from the colonies at the time and had gotten a degree in computer security and engineering. Relena had remembered him when she had been going through what positions she would need to fill.

Heero gave Garter the exact script and he must have succeeded in passing it off because Garter seemed pacified by the answer, though Heero said that this would not be the first time something like this came up.

"I do not like that man," Ben told Heero as the older man walked away and got into a discussion with the finance director.

Heero smiled.

"He must be good," Heero said, "Re…Miss Relena wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't."

"No, she wouldn't," Ben said, "she has a good head on her shoulders, I don't doubt that she can keep a man like that under control."

Heero nodded and looked away.

"So an old childhood friend huh," Ben said, "you must've left quite an impression on her for her to bring her here. I was unaware that Miss Relena had any friends from school."

_Oh I left an impression alright,_ Heero thought bemusedly to himself. He couldn't very well tell the bodyguard that he had introduced himself to Relena saying he was going to kill her. He imagined that wouldn't go very well.

"But either way, I'm glad she found you," Ben said, "I've been working with her for 4 years now, and while this may not be my place, it always seemed to me that she could've used some more friends her age."

"She could've?" Heero asked.

"She always struck me as a bit lonely," Ben said, "even as accomplished as she is, she is still young compared to most folk in this business. No one even knew she had school friends. Until now."

"I see," Heero said.

"Well whatever, the lady obviously trusts you," Ben said, "I would make sure I'd take care of that trust if I were you."

"I will," Heero said.

Ben smiled down at the boy. It was obvious there was more to this story than either Heero or Relena were letting on. Ben could tell this mostly by the fact that never once during the entire conversation had Heero's eyes been on his. He had in fact been watching Relena the whole entire time.

 

A lone transmission was sent in overnight on the day Relena rallied her staff. 

"Those who climb too soon, fall too soon."

 

The office was silent as Relena, Ben, and Garter stood in her office.

"Well I don't know who leaked that you were running," Garter said, "but we have to consider the worst."

Relena doesn't say anything to that.

"We should tell the Preventers," Ben said, "they need to know a threat has been made on Relena's life. She's a public figure."

"Now lets not be too hasty," Garter said, "we don't want to tip anyone off."

"It's a bit oblique, are we sure it is a threat?" Relena cut in, "and if they were planning to hurt me, why tip me off."

"They obviously want to scare you," Garter said, "maybe they think that if they come out you will be scared off. Or they want to influence you in some way. You know your proposed methods for dealing with governmental corruption have raised heads. They possibly want to get you to reconsider."

"Well they obviously don't know me very well if that is what they wrote," Relena said, "to think I would quit over something like this."

"Well either way, we must be discrete," Garter said, "We'll inform the Preventers. Hopefully this is nothing but just a bluff. With that I must be off, I have to meet the speechwriter for your announcement, if you'll excuse me."

With that he walked out leaving Ben and Relena alone in the office.

"I don't like it," Ben said.

"What the message? I think it would be very hard to like something like that," Relena replied.

"The timing," he said, "and at least one person in this office is behind it."

"Let's not to jump to too many conclusions," Relena said though she did agree with him. Someone from inside the office had to be involved. It was an unsettling thought.

Ben smiled at her, a bit in awe in her lack of suspicion, though he figured she had to at least contemplate the idea that a staff member was a mole. Relena Darlian may be perceived as to being a bit idealistic but she wasn't that trusting. He had served her for about 4 years and had grown to be a bit fond of hers. She was a good politician and Ben couldn't help but a bit starstruck at her at times. He never imagine that in his lifetime he would be charged with protecting someone as high in profile as Relena Darlian. He also found her to be a bit tiring as a charge. Her reckless activity on her last trip in space proved that she had a tendency to get herself in sticky situations that she didn't really need to be in. But Ben for the most part took it in stride. Relena reminded him a bit of his wife. Maybe he had a soft spot for troublesome women, his wife Marjorie was a bit of a daredevil when he had met her. Of course not now, not since their daughter had been born a month prior. It had been a big discussion with her about whether he would continue in his work as Relena's bodyguard. But Marjorie herself was a former bodyguard so had understood her husband's reluctance to quit.

"That friend of yours, the security analyst," Ben said bringing up something else that had been on his mind.

"Yes, what about him?" Relena said but Ben noted how a part of her had stopped when he mentioned Heero.

"He's a very interesting person," Ben said, "of course we'll have to look into him with this threat."

Relena smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about Heero," she said, "he would never hurt me."

"Not intentionally," Ben said.

Relena looked at him oddly for a moment.

"I don't understand," she said.

"Miss Relena, I've worked for you for 4 years," he said, "you never mentioned any school friends to anyone ever, and as long as I have worked you have neglected any sort of social activity. It is kind of hard for me to believe that you suddenly contacted an old school friend to come work for you."

Relena was quiet, this was not something she had quite foreseen. She hadn't expected Ben to ask so many questions.

"He's just a friend, Ben," she said, "nothing special."

"Not by the way you were looking at him."

_Was I that obvious?_ Relena thought. It was true that throughout the whole of the prior day she had been sneaking glances at him.

"I can assure you," Relena said, "he's nothing special."

"Just take my word," Ben said, "be careful."

"I don't think there is any need for that, but I will, but to be honest, can you make sure he doesn't find out about the threat," Relena said, and Ben looked at her cautiously.

"But…"

"It's just something he doesn't need to know," she said, "I don't want him to worry."

There is a silent pause and Ben suddenly knows there is something she isn't telling him about her supposed "friend." But before he can prod any further she changes the subject and asked after Marjorie and the baby and soon the concern is forgotten. 

For the moment at least.


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't take long for the campaign office to switch into full campaign mode. Posters and logos were drafted, slogans refined. Relena and Garter agreed to begin leaking certain info to alert the press that Relena was a possible candidate for President even if she wasn't going to announce it officially. 

Then of course there was the paperwork to be done. ESUN had a special fund to help provide funds for election campaigns in an effort to bring in people for office who otherwise wouldn't be able to even consider it. Of course it was nowhere near the funds they would need in the long term, but it was enough to at least keep them going. Garter told Relena he had started picking on possible donor ideas, and Relena had already committed a good portion of her own money for the cause.

They would have to announce her campaign soon so that the necessary fundraising drives and efforts could begin.

Heero tended to run a lot of the little odd jobs. Most of the time he got caught helping Sabriella file through the paper work or some such. He had to admit he didn't understand most of what was going on but he just followed everyone else's lead. 

He didn't really talk to Relena at all. For some reason she had begun to put up a wall and only gave him very short answers. She was also doing her very best not to look at him as if she was trying to keep herself from giving too much away.

She was hiding something from him and it disconcerted him. He wasn't used to her being the one with the secrets.

But he said nothing. He was here on her bequest after all, it wasn't her onus to tell him everything. But still it was unnerving. That and after a month of finally getting used to being around, suddenly that was switched off. He didn't have the experience are the wherewithal to deal with the sudden shift in treatment.

It went like this for a week, until finally on the eve of her announcement she finally called him into her office. It was late, and to be honest everyone should have left, but for some reason Heero had stayed. Actually it wasn't some reason. Relena was always the reason. When he noted that she was finally alone in the office he approached her.

"You should go," he said, "there is nothing left for you to do here."

Relena looked up at him.

"Oh has it gotten that late?" she asked as she glanced at the clock on the wall..

He doesn't say anything, just gazes at her, trying to puzzle out what she was thinking.

"I guess I should go," she said, and got up from her desk and made her move towards the door. But suddenly Heero stood in her way.

"Listen, I have to go," Relena said, "why are you blocking me."

"What is it?" he asked, his voice hollow and pleading. Neither he nor she had heard that tone before and she reeled back.

"What is what?" she asked.

"You're hiding something," he said.

"Heero, I'm not hiding anything," she said, but she doesn't look him in the eyes as she said it so Heero grabbed her shoulders by the shoulders and held her in place.

"Look at me and say it," he said.

She did, and for one moment he thought she was going to come out of it.

"I'm not hiding anything," she pleaded, and Heero lost his grip.

He still didn't believe her, but he realized that she wasn't going to give in. It was a strange thought, that he should feel hurt at this. Heero had never particularly cared if a person lied to him; he had always taken things like that for granted. But this lie, her refusal to tell him something hurt him.

It hurt that she didn't seem to trust him. That she couldn't quite believe in him.

And that was when he let go as she moved past him. The thought had suddenly struck him.

For the first time in his life, Heero cared about what another person thought about him.

It was indeed a sobering thought.

 

Relena received no sleep after she got home from her office. Heero's questioning had shaken her. She hadn't expected him to notice anything. But she couldn't tell him about the threat (another which had come in over the break.) She didn't bring him here to protect her from anything like that. She had asked him to come to fight for her.

Because she knew, she knew what would happen if he found out. He would lurch into that mode. That mode of a soldier and not the man she had slowly begun to realize he was. She glanced at him, and each time she did she found something new. He wasn't good at talking with people it seemed, so she had watched as many different people from around her campaign tried to talk with him and get him to open up. And he never got quite got the point of small talk. She had been amazed how many times he had held a perfectly terrifying scowl through a whole conversation.

But he persevered, and he was still here much to her amazement, not that she doubted that he would be. But this Heero, who was so different from the one before, this Heero Yuy who had lived in the world over the past few months. She wanted to get to know him. It was a thrilling thought to her.

Because over these past few months she could feel it slowly happening all over again.

She was falling in love with him.

It was a hopeless thought she knew, it was unrequited when she was 15, it would certainly be unrequited again. Besides she knew that that was not the sort of thing he needed. Not that, what he needed was an assurance of peace and stability. So she had dove into her work and focused on making sure that it happened.

This run for Presidency. That was going to make that happen. Her feelings were just one small part. She couldn't get hung up on it. It wasn't that important.

Still the encounter in her office had left her a bit uneasy. It wasn't his fault. She should have been able to hide it better.

When she arrived at the site of her announcement she saw that Heero was already there, helping some organizers set up chairs and equipment. She bided her time by going over her speech for the occasion, but really she waited for an opportunity to get him alone. Soon enough Heero separated from the rest of the workers and moved to a table by the stage to get some water, Relena walked over to him and took a deep breath.

"Heero, about last night," she said, "I'm sorry, I don't really mean to…"

"It's alright Relena," he interrupted, "I had no right to demand anything of you. Everything is fine."

"Are you sure?" she said, her voice shaky.

"Yes," he said, "you have enough to worry about."

He absently reaches up and brushes a bit of her hair from her face. The gesture is strangely intimate, but also comforting. Relena doesn't say anything, but he suddenly pulled away as if he had suddenly realized what he was doing. 

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay Heero," she said, "thank you."

 

"I, Relena Darlian, am today announcing my candidacy to run for President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. I have a vision of this world where the government is strong, kind and compassionate. The leadership that is needed for ESUN to succeed is one that is open to its people, that sees itself as not only an institution of leadership, but one of service. We as system of nations unified under common law, must work together to help maintain the peace that so many have died for. I am excited to help further ESUN's goal of a peaceful, unified world. Let us together move forward…."

Heero couldn't take his eyes off of her as she spoke. He and everyone else in the room was spellbound. Flashes from cameras lit up her face as she spoke of her ideals and her plans.

But mostly Heero thought about just how natural it was to see her up there. Like she was born for it.

She was truly amazing. He had always thought this, even when he had once fancied getting rid of her. She had always found ways to surprise him, to turn his expectations for her up on their head. But in that moment when she was on display for the entire world to see. Confident and strong. 

He began to question just why he was there, what in the world could someone like her want with someone like him? He was really a living dead man after all. 

She was going somewhere, to places. She had dreams, a vision, a purpose, while he was still struggling to find his.

 

It hadn't taken Heero long to break off from the celebration that had started after Relena had announced her candidacy. He secluded himself in the office just adjacent to the main common area and sat on the floor along the wall. The windows into the room where the revelers were were open so he could still tell what was going on outside. Not that he much cared about anyone aside from Relena. He supposed some of them seemed like decent people and not all of them were boring and inane. He was still wary of Garter though. Heero could tell the man was suspicious. Chances are of all the people he didn't want learning that he was a former Gundam Pilot, Garter was on the top of the list. Best to stay clear of him as much as possible.

That aside, Heero was exhausted. Being around people was so completely tiring and he needed to get away. Without a set mission or a reason to focus elsewhere he had begun to realize that when it came to interacting with people in any sort of non mission capacity he was at a total loss of what to do. Casual social interaction was utterly mystifying and just a tad annoying.

So here he was alone in a room fiddling on his phone (why phones did things other than call people was not something Heero could ever really understand either but for now he was grateful), and secretly hoping that the ruckus outside would subside soon. There was still too much work to be done.

"Oh there you are!"

He looked up from his phone to see Relena standing in the doorway.

"I'm surprised you're still here, I would've thought you'd have left by now," she said.

He said nothing. To be honest he wasn't quite sure why he hadn't left himself. Relena smiled then as if maybe she knew the answer. She walked over and sat beside him.

"I'm sorry, I know you probably don't want to be here," she said, "you can go, it's not like you'll be missed. If I could I would go with you."

"I think you would be missed."

"Thus my not being able to run out with you," she said, "you seemed a lot brighter at 15 than 25."

He looked at her strangely, and she laughed. This did not clear up anything.

"I'm just teasing, don't look so worried," she said and with that she leaned over and glanced at his phone.

It was then that Heero Yuy began to feel awkward for the first time in his life. She was close; he could smell her shampoo (lavenders and cream) and he didn't quite know what to do with this proximity. Unlike ten years ago,there was no war or bigger picture to keep him off these little things that had become something of an enigma to him. It wasn't the actual close proximity that got to him, but his hyperawareness. This was new and strange.

"Oh you're playing a game?" Relena said, her voice amused, "that is surprising."

"What?" he blurted out instantly in response, and immediately closed his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that, but the social situation wasn't really helping the matter.

Relena backed off and raised an eyebrow. Had Heero been in his usual state of mind he would have noted that her expression was one of bemusement and not shock. But Heero Yuy was definitely not in his usual state of mind.

"Nothing, it is just that is not something that I would ever expect you to do," she said, "it seemed too normal."

"Nothing about this is normal," he replied partly in defense, her comments were putting him off. Also were her eyes always that blue? Heero mentally stopped himself from going down that path. That way of thinking lead somewhere dangerous, someplace that Heero wasn't quite ready to go.

"No," she said, "it isn't. I suppose running for president at age 25 isn't normal."

She grew quiet then, almost introspective.

"Am I a fool for doing this?" she said, "maybe I'm rushing into things. It wouldn't be the first time."

"No it wouldn't," he said, his voice suddenly soft. Relena was usually so strong-willed that he was unused to seeing her in any state resembling melancholy, that suddenly any awkwardness at her physical closeness dissipated.

"You'd tell me if you thought this was a mistake, right?" she asked, not meeting his eye, rather staring out the window and into the common area at the people outside.

"I would, but I don't think it would matter," he said, "this is something you want to do. Not I nor anyone else can stop you."

"Oh that isn't true," she said, "you can stop me. That's why I asked you to come."

He stared at her.

"I don't know if you noticed this over the past few weeks, but there is a wall between me and others. To all those people outside I am an opportunity. They are going to ride on my coattails up the ladder. They think this because of who I am and what I was and who my family is. It's always been like this. They won't tell me that I should stop, they won't keep me honest. People have always treated me differently," she said.

"Relena..."

"That is why I asked you to come and be here with me on this, because with Pagan and Noin gone, there are very few people I can trust," she said, "I know this might be hard for you, but believe me when I say I need you here. I need a friend."

He is quiet. Everything and nothing churned away in his brain. She trusted him, but she was still keeping something from him.

"So thank you," she said, and put her hand over his, "thank you for being here."

He met her gaze and for the second time that night he was struck by awe at her. Or maybe it was more that he realized he was always in awe of her.

"Promise me, Heero," she said, "if I stray. If I lose sight of what I'm doing, stop me. Tell me to quit. I know that I don't always have my feet on the ground so I need you there. I trust you."

Instinctually he turned the hand under hers over and entwined his fingers around hers. He didn't know why he did except it felt natural to do so.

"I promise," he said, "until you ask me to go. I won't."

 

It was a few minutes later that Relena coaxed Heero out of the office and back into the party where everyone was. However as soon she was back there she was called away from him to meet with some potential donors and Heero was once again left to his own devices. He made his away along the edge of the party. 

He stopped when heard Ben talking to Une in a hushed tone.

"We got another threat this morning," Ben said, "still vague as always, but just as threatening as before."

"That's how many now?" Une asked.

"About 7," Ben said, "it's been pretty consistent. Always along the same lines. If Relena continues with the campaign, she'll die."

Heero stopped in his tracks at that. Threats? There had been threats. He hadn't seen anything of that kind, but granted he wasn't quite as connected as he used to be and he had been busy with other things. But still why hadn't he been informed of this? Had Relena caught him that off guard that he hadn't known to think of a situation like this.

"I can only expect whoever is sending them will amp them up now that her run is official," Noin said, "has she said anything about it."

"She refuses to talk about it," Ben said, "you know how she can be, a bit bullheaded. I guess she is going to trust that we can protect her."

"I'm not surprised," Une said, "threats on her life used to be a routine thing. She's programmed herself not to let them keep her down."

"But I'm worried," Ben said, "part of me says that this is a diversion. Whoever is doing this is building up to something. Something big."

"We'll just have to be prepared for the worst then," Une said, "we'll protect her."

Heero backed away at that, and then slipped out the door and into the hall. There had been threats on her life? And she knew about them? But then why? Why hadn't she told him. Wasn't this the kind of information she would've wanted him to know? What was going on? With that that he left the building and went back to where he was staying he clicked open the computer and immediately began to dig.

Slowly trying to put the pieces together. And the only thing he could tell, was that he didn't like what he saw.

 

The first day of Relena's first tour of ESUN as a Presidential Candidate was a rainy one. She was excited about it. They had decided to start in space and then move back onto Earth. Everything was planned accordingly as it should've been. Meetings with leaders, photo ops at the airport, interview with colony television and journalists. It was packed.

But Relena's excitement was partly tempered by the fact that she was also worried. Not about the campaign but the fact that Heero had been absent over the past week. Ever since their conversation in the office she had thought things had changed a bit. They had gotten just a bit closer, that he understood her just a bit more, but then he had disappeared.

It was frustrating. He had shown up today but he was keeping his distance. She tried to recount everything she had done but couldn't think of anything she had to warrant the silent treatment.

It was always going to be one step forward, two steps back it seemed. It hurt, he had never done this to her before. I mean way back when, he had threatened to kill her. That had been methodical it was not borne of ill will. But this, this was.

 _Did he find out about the threats?_ she thought. But that couldn't be, no new ones had come in since the day of the announcement. Ben was worried that meant it was building up to something and that was why they had stopped.

Relena couldn't brush this concern, but at any rate, she trusted both him and Une to take care of it. As she told both of them, none of the threats seemed anywhere near threatening or imminent as the ones from the past. They were working to track who the sender was, and they would be found in due time.

Either way, she made a note to confront him about it. If he had found out she would have to apologize and be honest, and tell him that he didn't need to be concerned.

Even though she knew that that was probably a futile hope. 

 

Heero couldn't stay away for a long, but he still didn't like being there. He was angry, although surprisingly not with Relena. More with himself. It had been too long, he thought, too long since he'd been a soldier. He had become complacent and allowed the Preventers and others to keep track of things like this. He hadn't thought that Relena could be under threat for this, because it hadn't happened in so long. But he should've. He should've known.

He could probably guess at her reasoning. She didn't want him as the soldier. It was a foolish thought, he was what he was, and nothing else. He was supposed to be there as an advisor not a protector. That was Ben and her security detail's job.

But he should've been more proactive and mostly he worried after himself. He'd grown too soft, too accustomed to life as a civilian. It was an odd feeling that. Some part of him had always wanted to leave the life of a soldier, but now that it seemed like it was something that had actually happened he became terrified.

Particularly now that it seemed that him, the soldier, was what needed most.

He boarded the shuttle, still maintaining his distance from Relena. He took a seat at the back of the shuttle while she remained towards the front. He pulled out the laptop in his bag and booted up.

The senders of the threats had done a good job hiding tracks. Heero had really only begun to crack into the web of proxies and servers and histories to figure out the source. But Heero was disturbed by them. They were too open, too in the face. There was something deeper, something masking the senders true purpose. Whatever it was, he needed to figure it out and fast. 

He kept his eyes on where Relena was sitting. Garter was with her, and Heero was sure he was monopolizing her attention. Or some such thing.

The flight started easily enough, some of the staffers who had never flown into space seemed a bit nervous. Heero kept his focus on staring at the back of Relena's seat. He never even flinched even when the shuttle pierced Earth's atmosphere. When everything stabilized and the shuttle gravity was as normalized as it could possibly be people began to calm and move about the shuttle. Heero stayed put, until about an hour into the flight Heero saw Garter get up and move to talk with the finance director over something of note. Heero took this up as his chance to speak with her. To confront her about exactly why she hadn't told him about the threats. 

He made his way to her seat and sat beside her. Upon securing himself to the seat he turned to her only to step back.

She was sleeping. She was slumped down and her face was turned towards him in an almost peaceful gesture.

He sucked in his breath, and that something that he had been pushing down ever since he had joined her began to rise up again. Instinctively, without thought he reached a hand up brushed her behind her ear. He didn't know what possessed him to do by that or even his own intentions.

It just felt natural. And terrifying.

It also woke her up, as her eyes fluttered open when he removed his hand. And Heero knew that he truly wasn't angry with her. It was more than just confusion in his own head. (And if he were to admit it to himself, his heart).

"Heero?" she asked, her voice a bit muffled from sleep.

He doesn't say anything but continues just looking at her.

"I'm sorry," she said breaking the trance that both of them had seemed to fall into.

"What?" he asked.

"You found out that I'd been getting threats," she said, "that is why you haven't been speaking to me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I figured you already knew or that you would worry."

"Relena," he said.

"It was just," she said, "for once you were here not because of some imminent danger or threat or situation and I thought you knowing would change all that. I was being silly."

He sucked his breath in as he stared at her for a moment.

"I'm not angry," he said, "just confused."

"You were angry," Relena said, "you may not know it but what you felt was anger. I'm sorry, I would've been angry too."

They are quiet for a moment.

"I suppose you've looked into them. Honestly, should I be worried," she said.

"I think you should always be worried," Heero said, "but these aren't entirely different from things that come before."

She nodded, and then looked back out towards the window.

"It's me, isn't it," she said, "no one has been threatened the way I've been threatened. It's me."

"You're the most visible," he replied, "and you don't hold back to the accepted lines. I think it is a matter that for a lot of people you're a threat to the world they're living."

"A threat?"

"You do have a tendency to make drastic changes," Heero said, "people aren't always comfortable with that."

"Am I right to do that?" she asked, "would it be better if I stepped down."

He brought a hand to her chin and brought her face back to face is.

"No," he said, "don't back down, what you're doing is the right thing."

There is mystifying emotion written on her face at that that Heero can't name. Was it gratitude, relief, or maybe even longing. But he didn't know.

"Whatever it is," Heero said, "whatever you face, I will be here. I will protect you."

The moment was long and palpable, but just after that, Relena suddenly seemed to change the subject.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, "something not related to people trying to kill me."

"What is it?"

"I've had to consider a running mate, and the only person I can consider is Dorothy," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I know, silly right. Garter laughed it off but it just kept sticking with me. I talked to her before I had had reunited with you about it, and I think she would work."

"She's a bit conniving," he said, the idea struck him as a bit odd.

"I think you need to be a bit like that in this job," she said, "I could probably stand to be a bit more conniving."

"So until you learn how to be so, you want to bring in someone who is," he said.

"Yes," she said, "but if that's uncomfortable for you considering the history."

"Heh," he said, "she's probably more tolerable now. Though I imagine she has more of a problem with Quatre."

"Speaking of," she said, "we'll be seeing Quatre in space. Have you talked to him lately."

"It's been about a year," he said, "you probably see him more than me."

"I'm sure," she said, "he's been well, Winner Corps is one of our biggest donors. Garter had been surprised I had the in."

"I'd be careful with that," he said.

"It's discrete," she said, "but of course we would have to be. He has his own secrets to keep after all."

Heero looked at her.

"Does he still see Trowa," he asked, it was an odd question. He hadn't really thought of the rest of the pilots in awhile.

"I'd imagine so," she said, "he took me to the circus to talk business once, and then left me by myself for almost half an hour once. I suppose they met then. It was a bit rude. But you pilots were never much one for manners."

"It's not one of our better qualities."

Relena laughed.

"You know what," she said smiling at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You, Heero Yuy, are generally funny," she said.

Heero thought about that. The comfort in the conversation had become natural that he had just followed her lead. Had she  
begun to reveal sides in him that he didn't know he had?


	6. Chapter 6

Ben watched Relena talk with Heero the whole rest of the flight. It was interesting, how different the two were around each other as opposed to everyone else. She was always cool and formal with everyone else. Always talking business, and not taking much interest in the lives outside of the people who worked for her. He imagined in her eyes, that didn't matter as long as they worked well and shared her vision. But in Heero, she took personal interest.

And Heero Yuy, Ben had an even tougher time placing him exactly. He was completely mystifying on every level, but Ben had noted that the man's attention was always on her. Centered on her in a way that was much deeper than just her as his employer, and possible future president.

Ben had noted the way Heero had grown distant with her since the public start of the campaign, but we had noted most was Relena's action to it. She became overly worried over every little thing and nervous. It was not a state he had been used to seeing her in, and he couldn't help but think it had to do with the security analyst.

Ben was not naive, there was something under the surface, and he wondered whether either of them were aware of it. 

_Be careful, Relena_ Ben thought, _these things have a way of getting out of hand._

Not to mention Ben had begun to have his own suspicions on just exactly who Heero was. He had caught the young man fishing through some of the security files on his laptop. The files were highly encrypted and Heero should not have been given access but there he had been traipsing through them easily as if he had the password.

The boy was a hacker, and not a normal one, Ben thought. He had then resulted Relena's profile to see if he could glean just where exactly Heero had come from. He knew that Relena had been a student at a private institution before her father's death and her re-establishment of Sanq. But when he checked the records of said institution, Heero was nowhere to be found. There was no record he had ever been there.

His cover was a lie, and apparently Relena was in on it. There was something missing. Some connection that he had yet to make.

_She does know right?_ Ben wondered, _whatever he's hiding she's knows about it. He won't hurt her right?_

Whatever it was, Ben would keep a close eye, she was his charge after all.

When the shuttle landed, Ben went to take his position behind Relena as he always did. Heero moved back to the back, and Relena went out with both Ben and Garter at his side. 

They made their way over the landing to meet the Governor of the colony they were on. Relena had just gone to greet them when suddenly a shot pierced the air and and then everything went black.

 

For one horrible moment, the entire room was still. And then just as quickly, everything erupted into fear and panic. As soon as the shot had rung out, Relena had been slammed to the floor. Ben was on top of her and she could barely see anything amidst the red emergency light. 

For one horrid moment, the entire hanger was still, as if everything just stopped. And then just as quickly everything broke out into a panic.

"The Governor's been hit!" someone yelled, from where Relena was.

"Everyone, stay still," she heard Ben bellow from above her, "we don't know where the shooter is and whether they will shoot again. We have to remain calm."

"We're sitting ducks," Relena heard Sabriella yell, "we need to leave."

"No," Ben said, "with the power out, that makes any shot he makes more difficult. Let's wait for power to be restored. By then we'll have reinforcements. Someone stay with the Governor, have emergency personnel been contacted?"

"Yes," a shaken Representative said, "but I don't think the Governor is doing that well."

"Anyone know how to treat a bullet wound," Ben called but of course no one did.

Relena was about to pipe up that Heero did, but Ben told her to be silent.

"They were probably after you," he said, " we can't give them any indication of just where you are."

"But," she said but just as she was about to cut in about Heero, the sound of sirens flooded the room and the lights came on. Garter got up and Relena followed to see paramedics rush to the scene, already going in to assist the fallen Governor. 

Satisfied that the hurt politician was getting the care he needed, Relena turned to her staff. The chief of police came over and told both her and Garter that it seemed like the shooter had fled and they were able to quickly secure the hanger.

"Alright everyone," Ben said taking charge, "Let's move."

He moved to lead the group out of the hanger but Relena stopped him.

"Wait, where's Heero?"

 

Quatre hadn't exactly planned meeting Relena at the port, though she had contacted him about meeting later. But as the head of the colony's larger company, his assistant had said that it would probably good appearance wise to show up. Which was fine, they were friends, and so he had gone (with 5 more people in tow than he really needed but there wasn't much he could do about that). 

He hadn't really been expecting what he came across as he went to enter the airport, only that two people rushed past him. One was in pursuit of the other. Quatre didn't a good look at the person being chased but he did get enough of a look at the pursuer.

"Wasn't that?" he quietly asked himself. But it couldn't be? What was Heero doing here? Unless…

"Master Quatre!"

Quatre turned, his thoughts distracted from possibly seeing Heero for the moment.

"Master Quatre, the governor's been shot!" the assistant, Abe said, "he was shot as he was meeting Candidate Darlian at the hanger.

"Is Miss Relena here?" Quatre asked, "is she alright?"

"I'm here," Quatre turned at the voice to see Relena standing in front of him.

"I'm fine," she said, "I don't know about the Governor though."

"I see," he said, "so that was what that was about. I'm glad that you and all your people seem to be alright."

"Most of them," she said, "I can't seem to find one of my assistants. He seems to have run off somewhere."

Relena's eyes met Quatre and he caught her meaning well and clear. So that was Heero that he saw. That must've meant that the Governor wasn't the intended target.

"Well, I wouldn't worry," Quatre said, "resourceful people like assistants can make it on their own. But I will look into it."

"Yes, please do," she said and then came in closer and whispered slightly in his ear, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," Quatre said, "I'll take care of it."

They both knew that if Heero's cover was blown it would make things worse for both of them.

 

As soon as the shot had been fired, Heero moved into action. Without even looking to see if everyone okay he glanced upward in the dark to the direction that the shot had been fired from. Even with just the emergency lights in the dark Heero had been able to see where the shooter was. He was on an upper balcony in the hanger, not a bad place for a shooter to position themselves. Heero quickly noted the stairway to the left of him and ran as quickly and towards the stairwell. 

A part of him worried about Relena but he couldn't think of that. Not until whoever this was had been caught. The shooter began to run and Heero followed along the line, and soon they moved from the hanger into the colonies port. Heero pushed past security, employees, and travelers trying not to lose his target.

He noticed no one around him, just the back. He hadn't quite figured out what he was going to do when he reached the shooter (killing him probably wasn't an option, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it). The shooter was fast, but not fast enough. It didn't take long for Heero to catch up and over take him. 

Heero dove straight into the man's back and forced him to the ground. Just as quickly he held the man's together while sitting on him to restrain any further movement.

He quickly secured his grip with his right hand and then pulled out the cell phone from his other. He quickly called the port authority to come in and apprehend the suspect officially and that he would wait there. It was only then that he noticed the crowd that had begun to gather around him. 

He was surrounded and people were staring at him and some were even snapping photos. Another fear soon gripped him.

This was not good. He had given some things away that he shouldn't have.

_This will just be a burden to Relena,_ he was angry with himself for being thoughtless, not to mention the fact that he still didn't know whether she was alright.

The chase hadn't gone that much past the port, so thankfully police arrived in time. Heero was able to quickly turn the shooter over to them, but he could see the quizzical looks in their eyes. This was not something that a mere personal assistant should've been able to see. 

"You'll have to come with us sir," the lead officer said to him, "standard procedure."

Heero was about to respond when a familiar voice cut in.

"That won't be necessary," Quatre said walking up from behind Heero.

"He's a part of Minister Relena Darlian's security team," Quatre said, "he was just doing his job."

"Umm Mr. Winner," the officer bumbled obviously not used to meeting anyone of name, "of course."

"You have the shooter," Quatre said, "I think that is all you really need, now isn't it."

Quatre smiled at the officer and than thanked him for his work. The officer wasn't a fool and took the cue to walk away and he headed to police car where the shooter was being held.

"Meet me later," Quatre whispered into his ear, "we need to talk."

Heero didn't respond but just looked at Quatre and asked a question that Quatre hadn't really expected.

"Is Relena alright?"

 

"Oh my, to think, that Heero Yuy of all people was able to catch a shooter just like that! It's almost like a scene from a movie," Sabriella crowed to Relena.

They had safely reached the hotel where they'd be staying and Sabriella was helping Relena unpack and prepare for the evening's gala in honor of her arrival. There had been talk of possibly postponing the event but Relena said they should continue as planned. No need to disrupt the reason for why they were here. Plus with the would be assassin in custody, it would be foolish for anyone to try anything that evening, plus the event was going to be way more secure than the spaceport hanger.

As well as to figure out just who the assassin was and more importantly, who he had been working for.

"I mean I always thought him handsome," Sabriella chimed on and something in her voice annoyed Relena, "but he was always so quiet, so stoic and hard to approach. To be honest I didn't much like him. But with this, I definitely think I need to rethink my feelings about Heero Yuy."

Now Relena was definitely annoyed. 

"It wasn't that impressive," Relena said, "any of the bodyguards could do it. And he was a good athlete in school."

"Ah really," Sabriella said pondering this bit, "that's right, he's a schoolmate of yours. Tell me what was he like in school?"

"He was intense," Relena said thinking back. It was really the only word she could think to describe him.

"Oh?"

"Probably too intense for you," Relena said, "I think you'd do better looking elsewhere."

"Hmmm, really," Sabriella said thoughtfully, "still this changes a bit. I can't just make him do coffee runs anymore."

"You had him doing coffee runs?" Relena asked, the image of Heero doing relatively simple and mundane tasks was a weird image.

"Of course," Sabriella said, "I was here first, and thus I am his senior. Shouldn't it be my right to pass menial jobs like that to people below me. But I definitely can't do that now. It would only make me look bad."

Relena laughed. Sabriella turned and looked at her.

"Why Miss Relena," she said, "you laughed!"

Relena turned and looked at the girl.

"What?"

"That was the first time I've ever seen you laugh," Sabriella said, "it's nice."

Relena was quiet. Had she really never laughed with any of her employees before? It seemed absurd but now that she looked back on it. It was true and it was then that there was ache in her heart. Hayworth had been right. She had kept herself too distant. 

"Yes," Relena said trying to keep the waver out of her voice, "I believe it is. And you're right, it is nice."

The moment was interrupted by two knocks at the door. Relena called the person in and wasn't surprised to see Ben clambering in.

"Pardon me ladies," Ben said, "but I need to speak with Miss Relena."

Sabriella nervously cast a glance over at Relena who just stared at Ben. Relena turned and smiled at her.

"You can go," she said, and Sabriella hurried out.

"Miss Relena, we need to talk," Ben said.

Relena sighed.

"Look Ben, I understand that the shot at the governor was meant for me but I can't worry about that," she said, "what would you have me do. We have already beefed up security as much as we possibly can. I can't get any safer."

"No it isn't about that," Ben said, "we need to talk about Heero Yuy."

Relena looked at him, and she tried her best to remain calm.

"To be honest, I've looked into him. There is no record of him ever being a student at St. Gabriel's," Ben said, "nor are there any real work records for him of any kind."

"So," she said, trying to nonchalantly pass it off..

"Well taking all that into account as well as the threats you've been getting, it isn't hard to see why I would be suspicious."

"You're not seriously suggesting that Heero is behind the attack today are you?" she said.

"No, I don't think he is," Ben said, "but it isn't in your favor if both him and you are dishonest. Things can get muddied."

"I didn't lie to you Ben," Relena said, "he is actually a friend I met in school. I never said we attended the same school."

"But that isn't the case is it," Ben said.

"Look Relena, I'm your guardian. I am not going to cast him out or call judgment on either of you but I think in order for me to do my job I need to know who he is," Ben said.

"If you really want to know," she said, "then all you need to know is that he is a shooting star. Now if you'll excuse me I have things I need to do to prepare for this evening."

 

Quatre escorted Heero back to his office from the scene. Heero had wanted to return to Relena's side but Quatre said that wouldn't be wise. Let the media focus on the shooting and arrest and hopefully any talk of the mysterious man who had caught the shooter would die down. Besides this wasn't the kind of attention that Relena wanted or needed right now.

"So did he say anything?" Quatre asked once they were nested into just his office.

"No," Heero said, "but judging by how well he executed his plan, I can't imagine that he is anything more than hired gun."

"And a poor one at that," Quatre said, "but I take it he was at least smart enough to keep his mouth shut."

"Who knows that isn't my problem.

"It wasn't really enough of your problem to chase him down though was it?" Quatre asked.

"I was the only one who could," Heero said, "I couldn't just let him get away."

"No, I suppose not," Quatre said. But they both knew that Quatre had caught him in a lie. It was because Relena had been there. If it had been anyone else Heero would have left something like that to others. For her, he was willing to break the facade.

An awkward silence fell into the room.

"I can't say that I'm not surprised that you're with Relena," Quatre said, "I hadn't known you two kept in touch."

Heero smiled.

"We didn't, we happened to meet about a month ago, and things just fell into place," Heero said, not bothering to give any more explanation.

"I see," Quatre said, "I assume she asked you and not the other way around."

Heero stopped for a bit and thought about it.

"Yes," he said.

"So what are you? Her bodyguard? Her security advisor?" Quatre asked.

"I'm neither. I'm her 'assistant'," Heero said, "I don't quite get it, she doesn't really need me around. At least she didn't before."

He looked a bit perplexed when Quatre cast a knowing glance in his direction.

"Have you ever thought that she was lonely," Quatre said, "I imagine a political campaign is hard, most of her opponents have family and whatnot."

"I don't think I'd be good at that sort of thing," Heero said, "she could do better."

Quatre put a hand to his Heero's shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Just do what you feel is right," Quatre said, "but for the five of us, I don't think its good to run from the world."

"I'm not running," Heero said and under his breath he muttered something.

Quatre looked at him sadly.

"Listen, I'll look into the shooter," Quatre said, "I have good contacts with the police so I will see what I can do. In the meantime you probably should get his name and check for any methods of payment and if anyone visited him recently. I know Trowa was approached by someone a few weeks back. He steered clear of course."

"I'm surprised they found him," Heero said, "Trowa is more careful than any of us. You should be careful as well."

"It's never safe for any of us," Quatre said, "but I wouldn't worry, we can take care of ourselves. We both have things to live for after all. And by the way so should you.”

"You shouldn't meet too much, people might start to talk,” Heero said waving off Quatre’s comment. That hit him in place that he wasn’t quite ready to touch just yet.

Quatre laughed about that.

"Better that then speculation about my previous occupation."

Heero nodded, and just like that the both of them knew that this conversation was over. Heero left and Quatre looked sadly at the spot where his friend had been, his friends whispered words echoing in is head.

_I can't run from a world that I never was part of anyway._

 

The shooter sat in the cell alone, mostly in panic. His boss was not going to be happy. This wasn't the way things had supposed to go down. He thought of his mother at home, and his sister and how the medical bills were piling up. Well that wasn't going to happen now. He cursed himself for ever taking this job. Before this he'd been a thief, or rather an errand boy. Retrieving things the boss needed from others. This call had been new, the boss had said it was a contract.

And the money he would be paid was more than he could ever dream of. He could do it. He could do it if it meant that his mother and sister were taken care of. If only this whole world hadn't been messed up, if only that damn insurance company hadn't refused to pay for his sister's surgery. Then this never would've happened. He would be okay. 

He wouldn't have had to hurt anyone. But no, now it was over. There was no way out now. He was alone in the cell and there were no cops there looking out. Not that it mattered, he wouldn't be able to get out of here even if he wanted to. He heard the sound proof door that came from the back open and the shooter looked up, fully expecting it to see the night guard taking his position.

It was not a guard.

"It's you," he said, "you're the guy who…"

But he didn't finish for the man raised a gun and shot one precise bullet through his chest. And then there was nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

Ben scanned through the files and files trying to put the pieces together. Relena's words stuck with him. There was something important that he was missing. Some dots that had yet to connect. 

_He’s a shooting star._

That wasn’t just some metaphor, Relena had given him some clue. He looked again through the things he had collected to help sort out Heero’s identity.

He once again booted up the computer and took a look through the browser. She had said she had met him in school. Relena’s educational history was well known. She had left school officially shortly after her adoptive father had died and soon after the re-establishment of Sanq with Relena as its head. The only high school she had ever attended had been St. Gabriel’s, a private Catholic school.

On a whim he typed the school’s name into a search engine to see if anything interesting would shed light on it. It was then that a particular headline caught his.

_Mobile Suit Battle heavily damages Civilian School. Possible Gundam Sighting defends school._

This perked his interest. This hadn’t been news at the time, but after the end of the war several things were reported through media about events that had been previously covered up as a sign of good faith between ESUN and the new population. Clearing skeletons out of the closet and all that.

This had been one of them.

_A gundam had been that close to Relena’s school?_ Ben pondered. 

He checked the dates, and sure it enough, this event and sighting had occurred shortly before Relena had left to re-establish Sanq.

It was then that another headline listed underneath “related stories” caught his eyes.

“Gundams initially reported as shooting stars by the Alliance.”

_All you need to know is that he’s a shooting star._

And then it suddenly all fell into place.

 

Heero was bombarded by questions the moment he stepped into the conference room they had rented to use as headquarters during their stay on the colony. Everyone wanted to know just how he had run down a shooter, and how he had even been able to see him in the dark. It was all very overwhelming. He marched through the crowd, passing off questions. He found Garter who was staring at him silently.

“Have we heard anything?” Heero said.

“I assume you mean the shooter,” Garter said, “no, we haven’t. Though apparently the Governor will be okay.”

“Where’s Relena?” Heero asked, he didn’t like talking to Garter, but he was the only one in the room who wouldn’t be fawning over his skills.

“I believe she is preparing for the event,” Garter said.

The conversation ended there as Heero left Garter to whatever he was doing. He almost made it out of the room when suddenly at the last minute Sabriella accosted him, quickly shoving something wrapped in plastic into hands.

“So Mr. Dark-side, what are you, some sort of superhero?” she said.

“What?”

“I mean you can deny it all you want, but I can’t believe that you don’t have some sort of superpowers,” Sabriella said,

Heero decided it was better that he just not respond to this comment at all. Rather he looked at what she had given him.

“What is this?”

“It’s a tuxedo,” Sabriella said, “for the gala tonight. Miss Relena asked me to give this to you.”

“I’m going?” Heero questioned, he had assumed that he didn’t need to be at every event related to the campaign.

“Of course,” Sabriella said, “We’re all going to be there. She did say she wanted to meet you at her room at seven.”

“I see,” he said.

“I’d hurry if I were you,” Sabriella said, “It’s six now. So I would use your superpowers to fly if I were you.”

With that she pushed him out the door.

 

Relena looked at herself in the mirror. Making sure that everything was in place. 

“Alright Relena, remain calm, just answer all the questions and you’ll be fine,” she said, “you can do this.”

A knock came at the door and Relena smiled and looked at the time.

7:05 p.m.

“Come in,” she said, and she smiled as the door opened and Heero walked in fully dressed. She took in a breath. The suit she had bought for him fit perfectly. A thrill went down her spine. He looked good, and she smiled to herself, she had known he would.

“You’re late,” she said.

“Well it took me awhile to get ready,” he said, “and despite what Sabriella and others in your office seem to think, I cannot fly.”

Relena laughed.

“You certainly set everything a buzz with your heroics this afternoon,” she said.

“Yeah, well it wasn’t that heroic,” Heero said, “anyone else would’ve done the same.”

“No they wouldn’t,” she said.

“You all right?” he asked.

“What? You mean with the thing from earlier? I’m fine, it’s not like this is the first time someone has tried to kill me,” she said, “I’m just glad Governor Stavin was okay.”

They don’t say anything, and just stood there waiting for the other to make their move.

“The tux fits okay?” she asked, “it looks good on you.”

He looked a bit taken aback by her comment, and Relena noted how his cheeks just turned a slight shade of red. It was an unusual reaction.

“It fit fine,” he said, “how did you know my size?”

“It was a lucky guess,” she said, though truth be told she had asked around with the men in her office and then guessed based on that.

“Although, I didn’t have to meet you here,” he said, “I could’ve just gone on my own. It’s not like I’m really needed.”

“Don’t be silly,” she said walking up to him, “it isn’t that you need to be there. I want you there. Besides, I can’t walk into the room alone. That would be embarrassing.”

“What?”

“Didn’t Sabriella tell you, you’re my date,” she said.

He said nothing.

“I don’t know how good I can be,” he said, “won’t questions be asked?”

“Questions are already being asked,” she said, “you brought that on yourself you know, with catching a gunmen and all.”

He smirked.

“I should have thought about that,” he said, “if I knew everyone would react this way I wouldn’t have run after him at all.”

“But it’s a good thing you did,” she said, “maybe that will be the end of it.”

“It won’t end until we figure out who hired him,” he said.

“No, I suppose not,” she said, “now we should go, I think my presence will be missed.”

“Imagine it would,” he said and turned to to go the door. 

Relena reached out and grabbed him by the arm, linking it through his.

“Wait,” she said, “you forgot, I’m your date. We have to go together.”

He looked at her. The word ‘date’ it sounded funny, and he noted the look in her eyes. There was something there he couldn’t quite place. 

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll follow your lead.”

 

Heero had never felt so exposed in his life. The event was bright and open and everyone was staring at him. Ok they weren’t staring at him, but rather at Relena. He barely paid attention as they circled the room, Relena greeted several people, thanked them for support, discussed issues and made small talk. Heero remained silent throughout the whole , everything just quietly following her along. 

When all the introductions were made, she let go of his arm and he sort of wandered away. Even so his gaze always came back to her. It followed her throughout the entire room. When he had gone to meet her, he was thinking of his conversation with Quatre. Something to live for?

It wasn’t about living for him. It was surviving, everything he had done was a weight upon him. He had nothing he could or should ask for save to keep breathing. Wouldn’t anymore be selfish, wouldn’t anymore be asking for things he couldn’t have. Things he shouldn’t dare wish for.

And the hardest part was that he didn’t even quite know what those things that he shouldn’t wish for were. But staring at Relena across the room. Seeing her laugh, smile, he suddenly realized that there was a longing.

He once, in an act of complete and utter stupidity had asked Zero what his future could be. The answer hadn’t been a satisfactory one. There had been the expected death and then there had been her. It was all connected.

Everything came back to her. Was that what he’d been running from? From her? No, there was no need for that. Maybe it wasn’t her but what she represented.

Hope. Want. Desire.

Those were all selfish things. Things that wouldn’t end well for him, and certainly not for her either.

“Miss Relena is lovely as always.”

Heero turned to see Quatre smiling at him.

“Hn.”

“I see you two actually came in together,” he said, “I was surprised.”

“She asked me,” Heero said, “I’m her date.”

Quatre laughed.

“Is it your first?”

Heero looked at him for a moment.

“You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”

“Not at all,” Quatre said, “just that you’ve changed.”

“So have you,” Heero said, “you and Trowa have been visiting with each other too much.”

“Or not enough,” Quatre said.

Heero said nothing, just pursed his lips and stared back at her.

“You know it’s ok,” Quatre said, “it’s ok to like her.”

And with that he walked away going to greet some businessmen or politician, Heero didn’t know or particularly care.

“Lost in thought?”

Heero blinked and when he opened he saw Relena in front of him.

“What?”

“You were just standing here looking at nowhere,” she said, “I’m sorry this thing was so bothersome. I thought it would be more interesting.”

_I wasn’t staring at nothing,_ Heero thought, _I was staring at you._

“It’s fine,” he said, “I wasn’t bored.”

“I was,” she said, “do you want to dance.”

“What?” he asked.

“The band started playing,” she said, “do you want? You’re my date it should be something we do at least once in the evening.”

“Whatever you want.”

“Not very enthusiastic,” she said, “but you weren’t the first time either. Oh what am I saying, you probably don’t remember the first time.”

“I do,” he whispered, though she didn’t hear him as she had already thread her hand through his and was leading him towards the dance floor. 

Heero wouldn’t have been able to tell you what the music was, or what type of dance they did. Maybe a waltz. But none of that really mattered as he couldn’t really focus on anything, because that hyper-awareness was back. She had stopped in the center and guide his arm out with one arm and rested her other hand on his shoulder. His free hand automatically fell to the waist. He remembered this. This had been what had been like 10 years ago. It had been instinctive back then too. Which had unsettled him then, and it unsettled him again now. 

“It gets easier,” she said.

“What?”

“Dealing with people,” she said, “sorry, I think I’m talking to myself.”

“It’s never easy,” he said.

“But it’s not too painful is it?” she asked, “I heard Sabriella joked with you earlier and you didn’t run away.”

“I should’ve,” he said, “I have no idea how to deal with her.”

“I think she has a little crush on you,” Relena said, “it’s quite funny. And sort of cute.”

She smiled at his perplexed expression as if he didn’t quite know what to do with this information.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to worry too much,” she said, “it’s just one of those things. It is okay to like someone.”

He looked at her then. He swallowed deeply. _It’s alright to like her._

“Is it really ok?” he asked her suddenly, “it could be…it could be a burden. Why impose on someone who probably doesn’t feel the same way or who would hurt them in the long run.”

He met her eyes, trying to gage her reaction.

“I don’t think it’s ever wrong to feel,” she said.

“Right,” he said, “I guess the better question is, does everyone deserve to like someone.”

She squeezed his hand.

“Yes,” she said, “everyone deserves that.”

They don’t talk for the rest of the dance.

 

Relena retreated to the edge of the room the moment the dance concluded, her breath still skipping. She tried to calm herself, there was stuff she needed to do, but all she could do was replay the conversation she had with Heero in her head. She hadn’t expected it to take that turn. She just wanted to tease him, to lighten the mood, to allow her to enjoy the moment but then he turned it on her. 

He’d been asking her something. Not explicitly, but Relena knew that there was meaning in his words and it had nothing to do with Sabriella’s little crush. It was something infinitely more serious. 

_Could it be?_ Relena stopped herself from going down that road. She had stopped herself from hoping for that years ago, but it still welled up. And their last few encounters hadn’t done anything to discourage that. What about what had occurred in the shuttle or in her hotel room. 

_He came with you because you asked him, and he’s your friend,_ she scolded herself. It’s about duty, nothing more. He felt obligation toward her. She couldn’t think it would be anything more. That would just lead to disappointment.

“Miss Relena.”

Relena smiled up at Ben, trying to hide the swirl of emotions inside her.

“Yes,” she said.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” she said, “just a bit exhausted. These functions are tiring.”

“I am sure they are,” he said.

“Can I ask you something, Ben?” she said, “and you must answer honestly, it doesn’t matter that I’m your boss.”

“Of course,” he said, “I would be glad to help.”

“Am I burden?” she asked.

“What?”

“I mean I set out to do all these things. I know that I can be reckless, that I’m young. This whole campaign it may just something I’m doing out out of whim and spite,” she said, “is it an inconvenience to you.”

“Miss Relena, it’s my job to protect you, that isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a duty,” he said.

“I see,” she said, “I guess I worry. Everyone is always going out of their way to support me, I just wondered if it was a bit unfair.”

“What did he say to you?”

“What?”

“What did Heero Yuy say to you?” Ben asked, “because Gundam Pilot or not, he works for you he shouldn’t be saying anything like that.”

She looked down.

“So you figured it out.”

“You’re clue was pretty obvious.”

“I hope that eased some of your concerns,” Relena said.

“Well I suppose it lends to him not being the one to kill you,” he said, “he protected you at that time. At the school. It was you that that Gundam was protecting.”

“I guess,” she said, “it wasn’t actually that clear to him at the time.”

“But those weren’t my only concerns,” he said, “I have other worries.”

“It’s about my feelings,” she said, “if so Ben, you don’t have to worry. It was always going to be an unrequited thing. I won’t get distracted.”

“Just be careful Miss Relena,” he said, “there are complications in this that you just might not see just yet.”

“Agent Kangley! Agent Kangley!” 

Relena and Ben both turned and looked at Davis, a lower bodyguard who had been working on security for the event.

“What is it?” Ben asked. Davis looked to Relena nervously.

“Is it about the shooter?” Relena asked.

“Yes,” Davis said, “it seems the shooter is dead.”

Heero heard the news almost at the exact same time that Relena did, only because he’d been standing with Quatre and one of his people had informed them of the shooter’s death. With that both Heero and Quatre excused themselves.

“Obvious cover up,” Quatre said, “although whoever did it had to think of the pending investigation.”

“Still better to kill him then risk him exposing you,” Heero said.

“I would suggest to Relena that she should hasten her trip to the next colony,” Quatre said, “it isn’t safe here.”

Heero was thinking along the same lines and quickly hurried back to the campaign command center to process particular ways of doing so. No one had followed here, most of them too tired from the event or were still there.”

“We should move fast.”

Heero looked up to see Ben standing at the doorway.

“I guess,” Heero said, and remembered, Relena’s security wasn’t his responsibility.

“It was a gunshot,” Ben said, “it happened in between a shift change, which took longer than usual. I suspect someone arranged it that way.”

“Convenient,” Heero said, “someone was probably paid off or shoved away to make it happen.”

“That does make sense,” he said, “we learned a bit more. Name Tim Utney, some connections to local gang leaders though nothing to do with murder. Had a mountain of debt. Apparently sister had cancer and he was struggling pay medical bills.”

“So they chose a desperate man,” Heero said, “not wise if you want the job done desperately.”

“I suppose you would know.”

Heero looked up at Ben.

“You’re the pilot of 01 aren’t you?” Ben said and then smiled when Heero didn’t respond, “don’t answer, I can tell by your face that you are.”

Heero said nothing.

“To be honest, I’m surprised Miss Relena brought you on as an assistant,” Ben said, “if what everything that is said about you is true, then you’re better suited for my job than I am.”

“She refused to hire me for that,” Heero said, “I suppose she felt she needed to spare me from it.”

“I suppose,” Ben said, “Miss Relena is a bit odd.”

They take that time to pore through some schematics and reports on the desk.

“Although, if she’s that big a burden to you than I can’t see why you would join her,” Ben said.

“What?”

“I would be careful,” Ben said, “some of the things she said to me. You’re a gundam pilot, I can understand how working for someone like Miss Relena would be tiresome.”

Heero looked up at Ben and turned away.

“She isn’t a burden,” he said, and then suddenly got up and walked to the door, “I came because I have no where else to know. So in reality I’m the burden.”

And with that Heero walked out, Ben smiled to himself. She may be a presidential candidate and he a gundam pilot. But they were still young. Still not so sure of their own feelings. 

Maybe Miss Relena’s feelings weren’t so unrequited after all.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the tour went by like a blur, and before Relena knew it she had returned to earth and the campaign really went into full swing. Her opponents were set in stone, though to be honest none of them felt like any real threat. They were all too safe, too lacking of vision, though Relena supposed that was bias.

Thankfully, no new threats, and no more attacks came about, though the Preventers had stepped in to take over the investigation from police. It was their primary duty to keep after a candidates safety. But things began to run smoothly.

They began to run even more smoothly when Relena brought Dorothy into the fold. It had taken a lot of coaxing, but Relena had managed to successfully bring Dorothy in as her vice president. Dorothy, not content to just stand on the side and talk about what a good president Relena was began to slowly take over the office.

Needless to say adjustments needed to be made. 

“That woman is a terror,” Sabriella would tell anyone who met her, “she is way too particular, I drafted the letter to donors three times and she still found fault with it. Now she is insisting on looking over my shoulder to see that it is getting done.”

Although it was with Garter that Dorothy really clashed.

“I cannot stand that man,” Dorothy told Relena during one of their ‘private meetings, “the man is a snake, why you chose him to head your campaign I have no idea.”

“He’s the best and I want to win,” she said.

“Heh, you don’t need him to win,” Dorothy said, “you should’ve come to me sooner. Things would be running a lot smoother if I’d been here from the beginning.”

“Well, I figured you had your own business,” Relena said.

“Yeah, well you best tell Garter that he better watch his step, because honestly we’re going to prove why we don’t need second rate hacks like him to win an election,” Dorothy said.

“I’m glad you’re confident.”

“It’s something I’ve been refining over the past ten years.”

“I can tell,” Relena said.

“You’ve grown a bit less confident,” Dorothy said, “you used to be really splendid.”

“I’m just tired,” Relena said, “come the convention I will be ready.”

 

The convention of course was the first major event where all the candidates were solidified. Or rather when each party sent their representatives came together and set the tone of the upcoming election. It was a big event and anticipation was growing. By now Relena’s candidacy had really taken off, though still most of the whispers were about how Queen Relena was running.

Relena admitted she found it a bit disheartening. Were they really listening to what she had to say? Or were they just supporting her because she had once been Queen Relena, symbol of hope and peace for all the world. She supposed it didn’t matter that much if she was elected because of that and not because of her current self, as long as she had the opportunity to bring about the change she wanted it didn’t really matter if that was the way she got there.

But still, Relena was becoming more and more discomforted by how people clang to the past. Even her opponents would bring up phrases and titles from that world gone by and Relena wondered whether it was even possible to change anything in this state.

Was all she doing for naught? Was it worthless? But she kept on. Better to focus on this then on other things that threatened to take over her thoughts and energy.

She hadn’t really spoken with Heero since the gala. It was as if things had been revealed in those moments that neither wanted to reveal, and they just needed to time to bottle it back up again. To make things as they were, so that when they parted again it would be like nothing had changed.

Relena didn’t really believe that would happen, at least on her end, it couldn’t go back. She would never be able to go back to that point. 10 years ago, she could’ve passed off her feelings as teenage fantasy, but not now, not after this. And this was mixed with her feelings that maybe this whole thing had been a foolish idea. She should have never asked to bring him along, that to do so would’ve asked too much of him. Did he find her feelings a burdens?

DId he even know her feelings at all. Her heart and head were a mess. She shouldn’t be concerned about this. She had an election to run. After all.

She banged her head against the desk, willing maybe for everything to just fade away, even if it was just for a second. However, when she lifted her head up, she saw Heero standing at the doorway looking at her with a bemused look on his face.

“You need time?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“No, just trying to take a break.”

“Ah well, Sabriella asked me to give this to you. It’s the notes for your speech.”

“Ah thank you,” she said. 

The room grew awkward for a moment.

“It’s a good speech,” Heero said suddenly.

“What?”

“It’s a good speech,” Heero said, “I think it encapsulates you very well.”

“Really,” she said, “I’m surprised you read them.”

“I was curious,” he said, “to be honest I hadn’t given much thought to what you were doing, but I think that was something that needed rectifying.”

Relena bit her lip.

“The world you speak of,” he said suddenly, “it sounds nice.”

Relena saw him smile to himself.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said, “because I want to make it happen.”

He looked at her, but she avoided his gaze.

“I know this may make me sound foolish and naive and childish but to be honest, it is how I really feel. The world I speak of, what I envision, it is what I want for you.”

She waited in bated breath for him to respond to that but he doesn’t and so she continued on.

“My life changed the day I met you, and when I did, I didn’t understand many things, but I know now that this world, it’s been hard to you. You and the others, you all carried such burdens. I thought, as powerless as I am, couldn’t I do something to help you, couldn’t I support you in some way? This is how.”

“Relena.”

“I told you in the hospital that day, didn’t I? I would make it so that there was place you can live,” she said, “I have to hold to that. It’s the only thing I can do for you.”

“You don’t need to do that Relena,” he said, “are you saying you running is because of me.”

“Not just because of you,” she said, “but you are a reason. You may dislike that, you may say I am weak for it, but this is something I have to do. Can’t you at least let me try.”

“I don’t think I can stop you from doing anything,” he said, “I question your motives, but I will help you. I don’t understand your reasoning but I can’t refute it. I’m not that important, that much of worth, but I’ll accept your insistence that I do this.”

“Thank you,” she said.

He smiled and then walked out the door, and Relena was once again left in an empty room.

 

It was two days prior to the convention that the threat came in. It wasn’t a threat towards Relena, but rather the convention as a whole. Panic spread through the world like rapid fire. Just what did this mean and who was behind it. Relena’s office in particular went into a full security lockdown mode.

“How do you think we should handle this?” Relena asked, “this has to be related to the threats on me.”

“Maybe you aren’t the only target, have we heard on whether any of the other candidates have received threats? But this was different, it was issued to the Preventers not us, and it named the President.”

“I am thinking maybe the purpose for all these threats does’t have anything specific to do with Relena, but rather as wholesale way of disrupting the election in general,” Ben said, “ a way to protest this government through driving a wedge into the system that powers it.”

“If that’s the case,” Relena said, “then maybe for my safety it is best I don’t go.”

“It would be hard to justify that unless the convention is wholly cancelled,” Ben said.

“The convention is mostly an event for the parties to rally their bases,” Relena said, “as an independent candidate I don’t need to do that as much as focusing on appealing to everyone a whole. Besides, wouldn’t it be useful to throw the security that we’ve taken on to the President. The possibility of the assassination of the President is much more dangerous than that of a mere candidate.”

Neither Ben nor Heero bothered to mention to her that she wasn’t a mere candidate. It wouldn't’ have changed much.

“I’m your bodyguard,” Ben said, “I will stay with you just in case.”

Ben turned to Heero.

“I assume you can join the Preventers and back up their efforts there.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem,” Heero said.

“Then it’s a deal,” Ben said, “I’ll talk to Une about it.”

 

The Preventers brought in a massive force into the protection of the convention center. It turned out that all 4 candidates would skip the event for security reasons. There was talk of the President dropping as well, but Une convinced him to stay. They couldn’t foster distrust or unease with the populace. The best thing to do was have the President start things off and just cut down the event a bit. Even Quatre had come in with the Maguanac Corps to assist.

“Do we have any leads on what kind of hit could be?” Quatre asked.

“I don’t know,” Heero said, “the threat wasn’t that specific. The convention center was locked 48 hours leading to the convention. Every entrance was monitored. No one was let in or out save for Preventer personnel.

On the day of, Heero began to grow uneasy. Something told him that something was wrong. The threat had been too broad. Sure whoever had issued it would’ve known that this would be the response. The enemy had to be smarter than this, particularly since their last assassination attempt had ended so badly.

When the convention started, Heero began to feel that feeling of dread grew. It was too easy, too clear. Where was the enemy really hiding. Where could they possibly be.

 

Ben and Heero had insisted that she stay at her home, but Relena couldn’t sit idly by. She had to at least work, do something. Ben had finally acquiesced to her request to take her to her office. She tried not to let her nerves get the best of her. She hoped that all of this would come to nothing. That they would finally catch whoever was behind the threats or that nothing would happen at all.

Only a few people were in the office when Relena arrived with Ben in toe. She sat at her office and went through her notes, but she mostly just watched the TV. Looking for any sign of what was to come. 

The President was in the middle of his speech praising the democratic system when Ben suddenly came rushing into the room.

And then the world exploded.


	9. Chapter 9

Relena regained consciousness only to feel the sting of smoke when she opened her eyes. Her mind was fuzzy and it took her a few moments to even remember where she was.

'I am at the office,' she thought, 'I was there avoiding the convention due to the threat. Heero and the others went to throw the enemy off our scent and I stayed with Ben...'

That was when it hit her. The convention and the President had never been the target from the beginning. That target had been her.

How could she have been this stupid? She had been the one to insist that she not go, thinking she would be safer. But no, whoever was behind this had been waiting for her to be separated. For her to be alone. Unprotected.

'No,' she thought, 'I can't let this happen. I can't die like this. Not now.'

When she tried to get up she found that she couldn't. Someone or something was on top of her. She pushed up with her back trying to move whatever was on top of her off and when she found that she could, she tried even harder. Her ribs and shoulder hurt and she knew that she needed to get out and to a hospital quickly. If whatever injuries she had sustained didn't kill her, than smoke inhalation would.

She began to slide forward, using all the strength left in her arms, until finally she finally slid out from the bulk on top of her. When she turned and looked she saw Ben still and lying on the ground.

For one moment, Relena saw her father. It was happening again. It was all happening again. She crawled over and turned her bodyguard over and began to shake him.

"Ben! Ben, please! Wake up, we have to get out of here!"

But Ben didn't move and he was cold and stiff. He was gone. The feeling of dread and despair descended upon her. He died because of her. She thought of Marjorie and the baby. How could she face them? Not that it mattered, she probably wasn't going to make it out of this anyways. She struggled to her feet. Every bone in her body hurt, she could barely breathe but she stood.

Relena knew with certainty. No one was coming. No one was going to save her.

She was going to have to save herself. 

 

The trip back to the office was excruciatingly long. Heero felt his heart race, not that different from what it used to do in battle, but this was different. Battle, fighting in a mobile suit, that was something he could control. This whole situation was outside his control. 

"We're probably worrying over nothing," Quatre said, standing next to him, "we overestimated the threat. Called their bluff."

"No," Heero replied looking straight ahead, "it was too complex to be an empty threat. They're hiding the true target."

Quatre was silent. He knew his friend was right. Nothing about any of this had made any sense. He alerted the driver to keep the frequency open. Hopefully nothing had happened in the time it had taken them to secure the convention.

It was then that the car came to a sudden stop.

"There's a blockade, sir," the driver said from the front, "shall I return to the house."

Quatre was just about to answer when the car door suddenly opened and shut. Quatre turned to see that Heero was already running towards the blockade in front.

"No, that won't be necessary Miles, just wait here and I'll contact you," Quatre said and quickly rushed after his comrade.

Heero's heart had stopped the moment that he had seen just what was beyond the barricade. It was headquarters, Relena's headquarters and it was on fire.

He had found the real target.

"Heero!" Quatre said, running up to him, but stopped when he saw the burning building.

"Heero, what..."

"The president wasn't who they were after," he said, "I made a mistake."

Quatre still catching his breath put a hand on his friend's shoulders influence.

"Don't worry, she's probably not there, you told her to stay at her home didn't you?"

Heero shook his head.

"She's there, Relena wouldn't have stayed home while we were all working," he said, "she wouldn't be able to stand it."

"She'd get out," Quatre said, "she's strong. We should stay back..."

But Heero was already off running towards the building. 

'I have to get there,' he said, 'Relena..."

Heero paid no heed to anyone he passed. He easily jumped the barricade, but was not quick enough to avert a cop who had been standing guard because the cop caught his arm and held him back.

"Sir, Sir you can't go in there!" the cop said, "Please go back behind the barricade."

A person who wasn't Heero Yuy probably would have protested that a presidential candidate was in there, and that they shouldn’t just stand there, but Heero wasn't normal. He looked at the cop and in one split second he made his decision.

He punched the cop out.

"Sorry," he said and ran into the building. Any thoughts of appearances had gone out the window. None of that mattered. Nothing else mattered.

'Relena I'm coming.'

The first thing Heero noticed was that the ground floor was still intact, and the air was breathable. He could hear the creaking coming from the upper floors. It had definitely been a localized bomb, but there was no telling how much damage it had done to the building's structure. For all Heero knew,it could be minutes before at least part of the building caved in. All he knew was that he had to get to the third floor. That was where she was.

He got to the emergency stairwell and proceeded upwards. However something stopped him on the platform in between the second and the third floor. On the ground lying against the wall was Relena, slumped down and unconscious.

He rushed to her. Her hair was matted with blood and ash, and when he felt for a pulse it was faint. She was alive, but just barely, and she most certainly had some internal bleeding. He also knew that she had not been in this stairwell when the bomb had hit. Somehow she had survived the blast and was able to get herself this far. 

"Hang on," he said, "I'll get you out of here."

He gently slides his arms underneath and in one swift moment lifts her up. Cradling her gently as he made his way back down.

'Don't die,' he thought, 'whatever you do don't die."

But a fear had already settled in. That even with as far as she had gotten, even if he got her out before the building collapsed, that it wouldn't be enough.

He would lose her. 

And for the first time in ten years, Heero remembered what it meant to fear.

'Live Relena,' he mentally chanted, 'live'.

 

Witnesses would later report that he looked like a demon straight out of hell. That they didn’t really believe just what exactly they were seeing. It was too unreal, something that belonged in a movie screen and not real life. A man emerged from the burning building, carrying someone carefully in his arms.

“It’s Miss Relena!” Sabriella cried, and suddenly everyone snapped to action. Paramedics rushed the barricade and quickly retrieved the fallen candidate.

Quatre who was standing by quickly went to Une and whispered in her ear. They too went through the barricades and quickly guided Heero away from the crowds of people. Heero looked towards the ambulance where Relena was taken as if he just wanted to run there and stay but Quatre moved on.

“She’s in good hands,” Quatre whispered reassuringly, “it’s best if we get you out of here before people start asking questions.”

 

Alex Garter looked at the scene in silent contemplation. A suspicion was fermenting in his mind, and he didn’t like it. Heero stopping the shooter could be passed off as a coincidence, but this was a touch over the line. A person just doesn’t stroll into a burning building with no fire gear and protection to save someone, even if that someone was likely to be the future president of ESUN. 

Garter could only think of 6 people who would likely attempt such a feat, and none of those six people were particularly appealing. This was a complication he hadn’t foreseen, and he quietly backed away and began to start planning for the next phase of his plans.

 

“That man is definitely a Gundam pilot.”

A group of men stood in a back groom of a nightclub.

“Are you sure?” one said, he was tall and lanky, “I thought they were all dead.”

“That was just a rumor,” another, slightly younger man said, “but this does complicate things with regards to that Darlian women. It will be much harder to take care of her with that pilot around.”

“Do you think she knows and that why she employs him?” the lanky man asked.

“Even if she does, it doesn’t matter,” the first said, “we should probably consider a change in plans.”

“Well we left it to you, didn’t you say you were going to drive that damn woman out of politics.”

“And I will,” the first said, “it was just things have not gone as I planned. That damn bodyguard of hers was keeping me out of the loop of what they were planning. I was just barely able to get the bomb placed in time. With him gone, even with the gundam pilot, things will get a bit easier. But I should begin to plan for a non-lethal way of destroying her.”

“And how are you supposed to do that?” one of them asked, “didn’t we discuss before this whole thing started that her reputation was too solid clad that we couldn’t break.”

“That was before we knew she had a gundam pilot in her wings,” the first said, “even though the pilots have become something of a legend in these ten years after the war, it cannot be swept aside that they were in fact terrorists. Wouldn’t it be a boon to us for her to be caught harboring one. A regular scandal that would be.”

“So we leak it?”

“No, that is only one step, just that alone wouldn’t be enough because she could claim she’d been deceived. No it will be one of many, I have already been setting my cards up,” the first explained, “and since it seems that Miss Relena has climbed to the height of success, I will make sure she knows just how far she has to fall.

 

Relena drearily opened her eyes to the sound of a heart monitor. She felt like she’d been out for days.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

The voice was familiar, she thought, and then it came to her. She turned to see Dorothy sitting there.

“What? What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Simple, I was waiting for you to wake up. You know everything has been such a mess, I almost took over your campaign for you.”

“How long has it been?” Relena asked.

“Two days,” Dorothy said, “everyone is in a panic. The president has called a two week suspension of campaign related activities so that this whole thing can be sorted out.”

Relena was silent as she looked over at her friend.

“Was I the only one?” she asked.

Dorothy gave the closest her the closest thing she had to a sympathetic expression.

“Most everyone who was not on the third or second floor were able to get out, however when it came to your office, you were the only one who survived,” Dorothy said.

Relena nodded.

“Ben died protecting me,” she said, “I wouldn’t been able to make it out if he hadn’t. How did I make it out? I collapsed in the stairwell.”

“A certain little shared acquaintance of ours just happened to burst into the building and whisked you out in your arms,” Dorothy said, “it was all very dramatic. Even I was moved.”

“Heero did,” Relena said.

“How? Is he alright.”

“Oh he’s fine, though really he doesn’t know what it means to keep a low profile,” Dorothy said, “the media has been all over how they can get an interview with ‘Queen Relena’s Savior’. It’s been very tiring.”

“Sorry to put you out,” Relena said but then fell into quietness.

While she had some concern for what Heero did, she was more stuck on what had happened. Ben was gone. That didn’t seem real. Didn’t he have a wife and child and he died for her. Another person she counted on was gone in the blink of an eye.

Were her ideals that important? 

“Well,” Dorothy said, “I was only supposed to keep an eye on you for a bit and now that you’re up I need to go. Someone has to rebuild your office and control the damage.”

“Thank you,” Relena said.

“Oh you should probably call your mother,” Dorothy said, “I had to practically stop her from flying out here. I knew you wouldn’t want that.”

“Thank you Dorothy,” she said, “and I’m sorry. Tell my mother that I’ll probably be coming home for a bit when this over.”

Dorothy gave a soft look.

“Don’t apologize Miss Relena,” Dorothy said, something of her old tone returning, “you aren’t nearly as splendid when you’re apologizing.”

Dorothy left Relena to herself, who spent the time most in a daze. She was still tired, and everywhere hurt, but the emotional pain was worse.

People were dead because of her. That was never a good feeling. She barely noticed the slew of nurses and doctors who came into inspect her.

Garter had come in. He had asked whether she wanted to continue with the campaign. She hadn’t been able to give him an answer, for she didn’t really know. There were too many things to consider. Too many wounds to close.

She half expected Heero to show up, but over the next day and half that she remained in the hospital he did not come. She barely heard from it at all.

It wasn’t until she was leaving that she saw him at the entrance.

“Heero,” she said.

“You’re going to your mother’s aren’t you?” he asked but she knew that it was just a way to fill the silence. Of course he knew where she was headed.

“Yes,” she said and then looked at him and asked, “Are you alright?”

He looked at her for a moment, and she found that she couldn’t really get a pulse on what he was thinking, just that his gaze wasn’t what it usually was.

“As long as you’re okay, I’ll be fine,” he said, “I’ll be accompanying you. With Ben gone, I talked with Une and will be taking over his position.”

“You don’t have to…”

“Who else is going to do it?” Heero asked, “this is the one thing I can do for you, so let me do it.”

WIth that he put a hand to her back and guided her to the car. Relena felt the first inkling that something important had changed.


	10. Chapter 10

They didn’t talk the whole trip to Japan. The security detail was light but that was only because Heero had stated they needed to keep a low profile. 

“I doubt they’ll attack anyways,” Heero said, “they’re waiting to see what you do. If you choose to cancel your campaign whoever is plotting against you won’t have to make any more moves.”

_So you’re saying I should give up?_ she thought. It was strange that she should feel hurt over this, even though she had been thinking along the same lines herself. If she quit that would save everyone the trouble and no one else was hurt. But the idea that he would urge her to give up was disheartening. Hadn’t he once said he was nothing compared to her? Where was that faith now?

Her home (or rather former home) always brought Relena back. To be honest, she had gotten a little lax about visiting though she contacted her mother often enough through phone calls, email and letters. She had gotten even more lax after Pagan had died. The house, Relena found, held too many memories that it felt like some place she had been in, in another life wholly disconnected from her current one.

But coming back now felt oddly comforting. She needed to get away. Not only because she was still dealing with the pain from Ben’s death and the feelings of guilt that hung over her.

She asked Heero whether it would be alright if they left most of the major security detail in the city and only the two of them go to see her mother. It wasn’t because she wanted to be alone with him necessarily, she would’ve preferred someone else, but she knew he probably would’ve insisted. And she knew that Heero Yuy was stubborn when he wanted to be and he seemed to be taking his newfound responsibility very seriously.

She didn’t want to inconvenience her mother and she was beginning to feel a bit caged in. Even for these few days, she didn’t want to feel like Candidate Relena Darlian or even Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian.

Heero agreed, so they went to her home by themselves, again not really talking or acknowledging the others presence.

To be honest, Relena couldn’t quite name her feelings for him right now. Along with Ben’s death, she was still grappling with how she felt about him going into the building to save her. 10 years ago it would’ve made her heart flutter but now, being older and hopefully wiser, it only made her a bit more disconcerted. He should never have done that? Was she that important to risk her life over. She didn’t ask him to come along so that he could constantly come and save her and put his own life on the line.

But she kept it all inside. She feigned a smile for her mother when they were greeted at the door. Marion Darlian, obviously detected the inner turmoil her daughter was going through and drew Relena into a hug.

“Thank god you’re alright,” Mrs. Darlian said, “I was so worried.”

“I’m fine mother,” she said, “you know it would take more than that to kill me.”

Mrs. Darlian nodded and then turned to Heero.

“Ah, you’re new,” she said, “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Marion Darlian.”

“Heero Yuy,” he said gruffly and took Mrs. Darlian’s offered hand.

“Thank you for taking care of my daughter,” she said, “I’m very grateful.”

Relena coughed to direct the conversation elsewhere, the whole exchange made her nervous, and her mother shot her knowing glance that unsettled her to a ridiculous degree. Leave to parents to read things into things that I didn’t need to.

Tea was served and the rest of the evening was peaceful. Mrs. Darlian didn’t ask too many question, rather just providing her daughter with a calm environment to come to grips with the events that happened. Shortly after dinner had finished, Relena excused herself, saying she needed to talk with a few people and she needed time to herself.

“You’re the one who saved her from that building weren’t you?”

Heero stammered in response and Mrs. Darlian just smiled.

“I just recognized you from the papers,” Mrs. Darlian said, “you have a very distinctive face.”

“I was just doing what I had to do,” he said, “you don’t have to thank me.”

“Of course I do,” she said, “any mother would thank the person who protected their child.”

“I wouldn’t know,” he said, “I never had a mother.”

“Well all the same,” Mrs. Darlian said, “I’m in your debt. And so is Relena I supposed. She do hates people looking after her.”

Heero said nothing.

“Well, feel free to treat this house as your home while you’re here,” Mrs. Darlian said, “you can ask Relena what room you would like to stay in.”

With that she left Heero to his own devices.

 

Heero wandered the grounds, not really paying attention to anything. To be honest, he was waiting for Relena’s next move. He hadn’t gone to see her at the hospital out of fear and self-consciousness. Also because he had begun to realize several things and was finally beginning to acknowledge them.

Before he would’ve rationalized his actions as doing it for the good of the world. The world needed Relena to keep it on track, so Heero would protect her to protect the world. But now he wasn’t so sure. The fear he had felt running into that building had not been about the world possibly falling back into the chaos of war or having to return to the life of a soldier.

He had been afraid of losing something. Or rather losing someone.

Relena wasn’t just important to the world. She was important to him.

She scratched his head annoyance. This was all more than he could take. She had gotten under his skin again, and this time he couldn’t get her out. He looked up at the window he knew to be her room. The light was on so he knew that she hadn’t yet gone to sleep. He knew she’d been avoiding him and due to the confusion of his own feelings he had let her. He knew she wasn’t happy about his new position because he couldn’t do anything about that. He couldn’t just leave her, not now. 

But he had told he would leave if she asked him too. Maybe he just needed to go and take it and deal with the consequences. He shouldn’t feel sad about it, there was nothing for him to feel sad about.

He’d gotten foolish. To feel sad about a possible parting was nothing something that Heero thought himself capable of. He entered the house from the back and proceeded up the stairs and to her room. Surprisingly her door was open and he leaned into the room and saw that she was laying on her bed gazing out the window.

“I should give up, shouldn’t I?” she asked, sensing his presence at the door.

“What?”

“I should give up the campaign,” she said, “it couldn’t be worth this. I wasn’t prepared for the possible consequences.”

“You couldn’t have foreseen this Relena,” he said coming in.

“Ben died because of me,” she said, “he had wanted me to stay at my apartment but I insisted on going in. If they had hit my place, he wouldn’t have been there.”

“You can’t mean that,” he said.

Relena turned to him.

“Am I really that important?” she asked, getting up, “am I really so important that a man has to die so that I can continue to do this. I didn’t even want to originally be President. I just wanted to move up so that I could make things better. Was that worth it. Has my selfishness lead to this.”

She was crying, and she was staring at him, begging for answer.

“I don’t think he was willing to die Relena,” Heero said, “Ben was your bodyguard he knew the stakes of his job.”

“So he’s expendable, that’s what you’re saying,” Relena said.

Heero walked up to her and put hands to your shoulder.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Heero said, “he wasn’t expendable, but you’re important. He believed in you and so he protected you. I’m sure he didn’t want to die, but at the end he was prepared to do what was necessary.”

“And so would you,” she said.

And something stung him.

“Relena…”

“Why did you do it?” Relena asked, her voice raising with each word, “why did you take a risk like that.”

“Relena, I couldn’t let you die?”

“Why? Because the world will fall if I’m not in it,” she said, “is that the kind of world I’ve helped build. One that relies solely on one life. Is this peace really that weak? You shouldn’t have done that. I never asked you to do that.”

“You don’t have to ask,” he said, his voice now raised, “and no it isn’t because of that Relena. You are important but I don’t think the world would fall if you die. But all the same you can’t expect me to do nothing.”

Relena said nothing. Heero stepped back and then looked away.

“I don’t want you dying for me,” she said finally, “if you were to get hurt on account of me I don’t think I can bear it.”

“You don’t think I feel the same?” Heero said, “you’re not the burden Relena. It is me. Doing things like that, that is the only thing I can do for you. It is the only thing I’m capable of. I can’t support you in any other way so I will insure that you will live to do what you can do.”

He then pulls her in close, one hand pressed against her back and the other placed behind her head.

“You’re doing the right thing Relena,” he said, “if you were give up now it would make what I did, what Ben did in vain. You’re stronger than that.”

Relena said nothing but pressed her face into his shoulder. She was warm and soft and seemed to fit. He tightened his hold.

“I told you I’d be with you as long as you need me there,” he said, “until the end or until you tell me, I will be by your side. You’re not alone.”

And it is then that Relena truly broke down and for the first time in his life Heero learned what it meant to comfort another human being.

 

They stayed in Japan for only a few days more. Relena called both Dorothy and Garter and told them to keep the campaign going. She had no desire to quit now.

An ease had formed between her and Heero then. They talked and made plans and she bounced ideas off of him. He was surprisingly a good listener and provided her on insights that she hadn’t really though he would have. 

They didn’t talk about the possibility of new attacks. Relena said she trusted him in the position as her head of security, even if she still wished that he didn’t have to take the role. He assured her that he would still do coffee runs with Sabriella if it would make her feel better.

It was comfortable, it was quite, but most of all it felt right. Relena didn’t worry too much about her feelings and just enjoyed his company. It didn’t matter what she felt for him or what he felt for her. She would just take comfort in his support and presence.

That would be enough. 

When Relena returned to the Capitol, she went right back to the mode she had been in before the attack. The suspension of all campaign activities had allowed Dorothy the time to set up a new base of operations at a near by office building. Her quick ability to do this meant that very little time was lost, particularly since Relena’s office had been very good about maintaining offsite backups of all files and materials need. The convention had been able to finish before the explosion of Relena’s office had occurred and that meant that when the all clear came to resume campaigning everyone picked up right back where they left off.

Her three opponents were quick to go on the offensive. TV, the internet, billboards were bombarded with ads slamming other candidates on everything from their position on ESUN’s budget to healthcare to what each candidate felt about flag burning. 

Relena maintained her composure through it all. While most of the attacks on her were conservative by nature in light of reputation the message on her qualifications and ideas were loud and clear.

She was young, she didn’t favor bulking up the Preventer’s resources, she had no records on finance or running a business. Even attacks on her lack of a college degree were heard even though again her lack was easily explained by her record.

She responded to what she felt she need to respond to and nothing more. Relena set a clear bar with her staff that she wanted to focus on her policies and her positions over spending time answering every single attack that came their way. They would attack the lies and slander, but there was no need to dignify everything with a response. The people knew her, they could make their minds up for themselves.

“She’s too idealistic,” Dorothy grumbled to Heero (only because he was the only one around), “people are fickle. She can’t expect them to forget everything that is said about her.”

Heero doesn’t talk, he learned that conversing with Dorothy was a bit tiring so he just let her go on and on before finding a way to escape the situation.

He mostly spent his time helping to secure every location as well as screening certain personnel. There had been no threats of note since the explosion, but he was weary.

However, as soon as Heero had obtained full access to Ben’s files he started to notice certain things as interesting. His predecessor had kept very good notes of everything and Heero noted that Ben had been keeping an eye on certain campaign accounts.

Ben had obviously begun to investigate just who exactly in the office was connected to the attacks. The accounts that Ben had flagged were accounts that weren’t disclosed with the financial reports Relena had to disclose as part of the campaign. It also seemed that a small yet significant portion of funds was being cyphoned from the campaign for something else. Heero made a note to talk with Garter about it. He wouldn’t be obvious about it, but it was suspicious and Ben had noted it was likely that Relena had no knowledge of the accounts.

He wouldn’t tell her right away, but he would have to tell her soon. Any inconsistencies in the books would be a cause for concern and obviously most of this had been speculation on Ben’s part. Best to get hard evidence before putting this on her. She already had enough to deal with.

But he promised himself that he would take care of whatever this was. He was going to protect her, clear her way so that she would do what she needed and wanted to do. If she felt a need to work this hard for his sake then he had to insure that she didn’t take it all on herself. 

He smiled to himself. Leave it to Relena to do what she admonished him for doing. Maybe someday, he would be comfortable enough to tease her about it.

The thought of one day was strange. It was the first real thought of the future that he had ever had in his life. The first time he had ever come up with something even remotely close to a plan for his future. It wasn’t the fact that he had a future to think about that struck him.

But that for the first time in his life, Heero Yuy wanted a future.


	11. Chapter 11

Relena felt like she was on cloud nine. Things weren’t entirely perfect, but they were better than they had been in a long time. The campaign was doing well, people were really responding to her and she was beginning to go into the mode of not just looking into what needed to be done for the campaign, but what needed to be done for the actual presidency. It was thrilling.

And then there was Heero. Since breaking down at her mother’s there was closeness between them that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t that they had admitted anything, but they were close. She could feel it. She would catch him glancing at her every now and again and his expression wasn’t some mix of confusion or question but rather just one of tenderness. They often worked into the night after everyone had left. She would be writing or planning, and would say that she couldn’t leave just yet, and he would say that it would be a shirking of duty if he didn’t stay.

It was comforting. They didn’t talk a lot during these times, but it was never awkward, never painful. No it was just right.

And it was something people were starting to notice. Sabriella, in her constant state of curiosity and thirst for gossip, once made the mistake of asking Dorothy whether she thought anything was going on. Dorothy had glared at her for a minute to signal to her that she neither cared and that one shouldn’t bother her with such trivial things.

“Seriously,” Dorothy said, “she was insinuating that maybe you two were having an affair.”

Relena laughed at that. It didn’t upset her, because she knew Sabriella’s fantasies were never going to leak out of the office, so there wasn’t much reason to worry about them.

“What if we are?” Relena asked curiously.

“I’d say you two would be more discrete,” Dorothy said, “I thought you two had more sense.”

Relena smirked.

“To be honest, I don’t think either me or Heero are sensible people,” Relena said, “if we were, maybe it wouldn’t have taken us that long to get here.”

“So you are having an affair?” Dorothy asked, “well if you get caught, don’t expect me to pick up the pieces.”

“No it isn’t anything like that,” Relena said, “and why would it be an affair anyways? Neither of us are married.”

Dorothy said nothing.

“Just don’t talk to me about it,” Dorothy said, “I want no part in this funny business.”

“Don’t worry,” Relena said, “I don’t know that I would want to talk about it with you either.”

 

Heero was close. He had checked with the banks and met with some contacts from various political officials and everything was coming together. All signs were pointing at Garter as the mastermind behind not only the diversion of funds from the campaign to somewhere else but also both the shooting in space and the bombing of Relena’s campaign offices. There had been a call to one of the mob bosses in the colony. That same mob boss had held a huge amount of debt over the shooter in space. And then there was the fact that Garter had put in a request to do some kind of maintenance on Relena’s office the day before the bombing. It was the little things that began to add up. 

It wasn’t initially clear what the motive was though. Garter had after all been the one to proposition Relena about running for President in the first place? Why do that if you didn’t want her to run in the first place. No this was some plan that had been in place prior to the campaign. So he looked even further.

And then one day after meeting with a contact, it hit him.

Heero debated going to Relena with the information. She had a right to know after all, and this wasn’t something he could keep from her. However, he was still waiting on independent verification. If Relena was going to act she had to establish herself free or clear, otherwise Garter could escape or even worse take her down with him. That was not something Heero was going to allow to happen.

“Ah, working late again?” 

Heero looked up to see Garter staring at him in some inscrutable matter.

“I don’t believe I have business with you,” Heero said.

“Ah but I believe you do,” Garter said, “I heard you were snooping around in the campaign’s finance record. Now why would the head of security need to do something as foolish as that.”

“Probably for the same reason that a political strategist needs to create phony accounts,” Heero said right back, “at first I couldn’t believe that the man who offered Relena the chance to become president could possibly be trying to kill her. But then I realized that your proposal was a bit convenient. Relena had no aspirations to it, at least not yet, and you drove her into it by orchestrating that she not be named as the next Foreign Minister. It was a lofty check you issued to Minister Hayworth. Pretty expensive. And of course the people you work for want her out of the picture. So you get her to run and either ruin her image forever and kill her and then nothing will change.”

Garter sneered at him then.

“You have no proof.”

“Not physically, but that will come in time,” Heero said, “but it is good of you to confirm it with me yourself.”

“You can’t touch me,” Garter said, “aren’t you the least bit worried about what I have on you.”

Heero met the man’s gaze. He had assumed that Garter had looked into him. Had it been Heero’s assassination plot, he certainly would have looked into the guy who had foiled it twice.

“I am no one of value,” Heero said, “you can’t hurt me.”

“Ah maybe,” Garter said, “but I can _hurt_ her. After all what would the public say if they found that Relena had a gundam pilot in her employ.”

Heero looked up at him.

“You and your comrades may be viewed with some respect, but let’s face it, when it comes right down to it you’re a terrorist,” Garter said, “it doesn’t matter that you were 15 at the time.”

“You can’t hurt her using that,” Heero said, “I’d just disappear, Relena would be smart enough to feign innocence.”

“Would she though?” Garter said, “Miss Relena is not that great of a politician. One of the reasons she won’t win this election is that she can’t leave someone behind. And going by her feelings for you, she certainly wouldn’t cut you off like that. She isn’t that heartless.”

Heero stilled. 

“Face it, you’re nothing but a burden for her. Had I actually wanted her to win I wouldn’t have suggested to her to take someone like you on,” Garter said, “it’s political suicide.”

“I don’t think I would disagree that I am no better than you,” Heero said, “but Relena knows what I am. You however are in a much more precarious position.”

“Even so, if you even thinking of bringing this up, you can assure yourself that next time Relena won’t come out unscathed.”

Heero said nothing.

“You may not care about yourself,” Garter said, “but you can’t even feign that you don’t care about her.” 

With that he walked out the door leaving Heero to contemplate his next move. So Garter had figured it out, this posed a problem. With this information Garter had another point to attack Relena for and that was something that Heero hadn’t quite prepared for.

He had spent his whole life as weapon, but damn if someone was going to use him for their own ends. This definitely put a hamper on telling Relena any time soon. He needed a plan and he needed time.

He picked the phone up an dialed a number.

_I really didn’t want to do this but I guess I don’t have a choice in the matter._

 

Relena didn’t notice Heero was gone until midway through the day when Davis came into the office and told her he would be escorting her to the rally they had organized that evening.

“Is Heero here?” she asked.

“No, ma’am, he left this morning,” Davis said.

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No, just that he would be gone for awhile,” Davis said, “to be honest I was told I would be your head bodyguard for now by Une a few minutes ago.”

_So I take it that means he was going to be gone longer than just the day._

He hadn’t told her about going anywhere though. And his absence became a sort of puzzle to her all day. It was only when Sabriella had rushed into her office asking her whether or not she had heard that Heero had tendered his resignation that Relena began to get worried.

_He resigned?_

He definitely would have told her he was leaving if that was the case. Hadn’t he told her that he would stay by her side until she told him to leave? Where could he have gone.

When she went to his desk after everyone else had left, she saw that the contents had been cleared out and his computer had been wiped. There was no note left and no trace that he had ever been there. It was just like before during the war. Making it as if he didn’t exist. LIke he was a living ghost.

_He would’ve told me? Things are different._

But were they, Relena couldn’t quite let go of the fear that maybe she had misunderstood what had been going on the past few weeks. Had he been that unhappy? Was it that big of burden, being by her? Was she selfish.

_I hoped for too much,_ she thought.

“It’s interesting,” Dorothy said from the doorway.

“What’s interesting?” Relena asked her.

“I heard that shortly before leaving, Heero had been talking with your political strategist. That unpleasant fellow,” Dorothy said.

_Garter talked to him, but why?_

“Please get Garter, I need to talk to him,” she said. 

Something was not right, and Relena was going to get to the bottom of it.

“Of course.”

Relena sat in her office gazing out the window. She prepared herself for what she was going to say to Garter. Of all the people she had worked with, Relena had opened up to most of them. The only person she still felt wary of was Garter. But she tried to push it aside, but now knowing that Garter had been the last one to see Heero the suspicion had come full on.

Garter had been good at setting up a game plan and pouring in resources but this was not his campaign it was hers. And if he drove Heero out then he was going to have to pay for that.

Heero would have to pay for that too. Of all the people to get driven out for, Alex Garter was low on that list. She made a mental note to herself to make sure that Heero realized just how much of a coward he was being with this.

“You wanted to see me,” Garter said, “we just had our status meeting.”

“Whose campaign is this Garter?” she asked.

“What?” Garter looked at her suspiciously.

“Whose campaign is this?” she repeated and he couldn’t have mistaken her glare for anything but the anger that it was.

“It’s yours,” he asked.

“Good, and so can you please tell me why my bodyguard and head of security tendered his resignation today,” she commanded.

“Ah, I assume you are talking about Mr. Yuy.”

“I don’t believe any of the rest of my staff has resigned today.”

“Well, apparently he wasn’t reliable as you thought he was,” Garter said not giving anything else away, “it’s too bad that more young people aren’t as reliable and devoted to their work as you are.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the reason,” Relena said, “Heero is not that kind of person.”

“And just what kind of person is he?” Garter said.

Relena looked him square in the eyes.

“He’s the strongest person in the world,” she said, “second only to myself. So if you expect me that he just left because he wasn’t reliable, then you really know nothing about me.”

“Is that a challenge?” Garter said, “I made this campaign possible for you. You wouldn’t be here without me.”

Relena laughed.

“Do you really think that,” Relena said, “I’m not your puppet.”

“Weren’t you Dekim’s,” Garter said, “I know all about the truth of your little reign.”

“Well that didn’t work out well for him, did it,” she said, “and it won’t work out well for you either. Now tell me what did you and Heero discuss before he left?”

“Nothing of consequence,” Garter said, “I would rethink your relationship to him. I don’t think his returning would be of much benefit to you.”

Relena seethed. She was this close to firing him, but she stopped herself from taking it any further. It was just a suspicion and she couldn’t prove it. No need to react.

She dismissed him then, seeing as the conversation was going nowhere. When he was gone, and she saw that he was out of her sight she went down to Dorothy’s office.

“I need you to find him,” she said.

Dorothy looked at her for a moment.

“I need you to find Heero for me.”

“I thought I told you that you shouldn’t get me involved in your little business.”

“This has nothing to do with that,” Relena said, “but I can’t look for him right now, with everything coming up. Contact Quatre, I’m sure he’ll have an idea of where to look.”

Dorothy grimaced, and Relena gave a reassuring smile.

“I owe you,” she said, “and you can put aside your distaste for Quatre. If you don’t we might not have a campaign soon enough.”

Dorothy said nothing, but Relena saw her already reaching for the phone. She sent for Sabriella and told her to prepare an overnight bag. Sabriella side eyed her a bit at that but acquiesced and hurried towards her apartment.

_You can’t run away that easily, Heero. You need to finish what you start._


	12. Chapter 12

“Man this is just like him,” Duo grumbled as he waited in the shuttleport, “always having to barge in on other people’s lives with no concern to what they are doing.”

“I thought he was your friend,” Hilde said from beside him, “he’s a gundam pilot right?”

“Yes,” Duo said, “but he was the worst of us. And I guess the best of us. But most the worst of us. Man, why does he always have to make my life more difficult.”

“He’s hardly making our life difficult Duo,” Hilde, “he’s just staying with us a couple night. It’s hardly an inconvenience.”

“It’s inconvenient for me,” Duo said, “this guy has a way of making a mess of things. Not to mention he takes my stuff.”

Hilde laughed.

“As if you don’t take mine,” she said, “the garage is technically my house after all.”

“That’s different,” Duo said, “we’re dating. He’s just a moocher.”

“Well it’s my house over all,” Hilde said, “and I say he can stay, and by the way isn’t that him.”

Duo looked up to see Heero leaning up against the wall, talking on a cell phone. Duo walked over him to tell him that he didn’t need to call Duo here to wait for him, but Heero didn’t even look at him when he came up. Heero Yuy always did know the best way to annoy him.

But Duo couldn’t feel Hilde looking at him with her arms cross, silently urging him to behave and not get to heated up about it. But Duo was already annoyed. He liked Heero well enough, he even respected the guy, but that didn’t mean that he necessarily felt like spending time with him.

After what seemed like forever, Heero finally hung up the window and turned to Duo. But much to Duo’s chagrin, he didn’t say anything, rather he just strode right past him.

_He’s doing this to annoy me,_ Duo thought, _the son of a…_

“You must be Heero,” he heard Hilde say and he turned to see Heero shaking Hilde’s hand, “sorry about Duo. I’m sure you know he’s an idiot.

“Thanks for having me,” Heero said not bothering to agree or disagree with Hilde’s insult.

Duo growled. This was not going to be a fun weekend. 

Duo waited until they had returned to the junkyard and Hilde went off to handle the accounts that Duo confronted Heero about just what exactly he was doing here, and why was it absolutely necessary for him to stay here.

“I need to hide out for a few days,” Heero said, “and I don’t like circus animals, so couldn’t stay with Trowa.”

“So you chose me,” Duo said, “you know some of us have our own things, we can’t just be your place to go to when you need to crash.”

“Well I will compensate you for any hardship,” Heero said, “though I can’t imagine I’m interrupting that much. You are you after all.”

Duo doesn’t even bother responding to that comment.

“Look, why are you really here,” Duo said, “I thought you were working with that Peacecraft lady on her campaign. Isn’t that a bit more important.”

“I can’t be around there right now,” Heero said, “for Relena _Darlian’s_ sake I have to lay low until I get the materials that I need.”

“Is something going on?”

“Relena’s in danger,” Heero said, “I would have made it even more dangerous. This is only for a little while, then I’ll return.”

“Does she know that?”

“No,” Heero said, “no reason to tell her. When I get everything sorted I will go back.”

“You know anyone else who walked out on a job like you did would be promptly fired,” Duo said, “I think that lady is way too tolerant of you. That and just plain weird.”

“Well she has to be,” Heero said, “to be able to stand a guy like me.”

“Well isn’t that the truth,” Duo said, “I would tell you you owe me, but knowing you that probably isn’t the wisest. Look just do what you gotta do and then go. I can’t babysit you all year y’know.”

“Roger that.”

 

It was one night after Heero that had arrived at Duo’s that chaos really hit Duo. Everyone had actually been sleeping when a knock came at the door. It was loud and almost desperate. Heero had been on the couch but woke up the moment the first bang sounded. He groggily got up, not even bothering with a shirt and opened the door, only to find Relena standing at the doorway.

“Relena,” he said in surprise, “what are you.”

“You’re here,” she said, “Good I think I accidentally woke up the next door neighbors.”

“Relena.”

“To answer your question, I’m here to bring you back.”

He said nothing.

“Look, whatever Garter told you he was out of line,” Relena said, “you are definitely needed back at headquarters. I can’t even tell you how ineffectual the rest of the security staff is.”

“You spoke with Garter?” he asked, he was curious, but he couldn’t really count that Relena suspected anything of her strategist yet.

“I did,” Relena said, “he told me you just left because you’re young and flighty. I didn’t believe him.”

_What a completely incompetent guy,_ Heero thought, no wonder all his assassination attempts failed. The guy had no idea to cover up.

“I know that these past few months have been hard for you,” Relena said, “maybe I asked too much of you, maybe I was selfish, but you can’t…”

“I can’t what?” he asked softly.

“You can’t run away,” she said.

“I’m running away?” it was a funny little suggestion.

“Isn’t that why you left?” Relena asked, “why else would you leave and not talk to me first.”

“Relena.”

“I know this is selfish of me,” she said, “but I need you. I need you there.”

He moved in closer. There was a vulnerability in her eyes that he wasn’t used to seeing and a longing.

“Did you really come here in the middle of a campaign to bring me back?” he asked.

“I know, I know,” she said, “but I was afraid that you were running. That I scared you off.”

“I’m not running away,” he said, “and I’m certainly not running away from you.”

“You’re not?”

“No,” he said his voice oddly calm to his own ears, “I can’t run from you Relena, no matter how hard I try. You’ll just find me again.”

“I can’t chase you forever,” she said, “I have lots of things to do.”

“I know you do.”

And suddenly it was like the energy in Relena deflated. Was it relief, or was it just standing there with him that put her at ease.

“I was just worried,” she said, “that things were getting too complicated for you. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t disappear…”

And that was when he kissed her.

It wasn’t sweeping, it wasn’t epic. To be honest it was chaste and a little awkward. It was as if he had known the first ove but then had no idea how to continue. It was just lips touching.

It was Relena who took it from there. She opened her mouth, and began to gently carress his lips in her own. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his and he moved his hands from her cheeks to her back. In response to her movement he opened his mouth and pushed her tongue inside.

This. This had been what they had been skirting for the last few weeks. No, since they had encountered each other at the rally. It was release.

They were both breathless when they pulled a part, and their eyes met and they knew they didn’t need words. There didn’t need to be exclamation of loves.

He loved her.

She loved him.

That was all they needed to know.

She kissed him again, and they melted down into the couch. And that was where Duo and Hilde found them in the morning.

 

The morning was in some ways both welcome and unwelcome. On one hand it solidified that what had transpired in the evening had in fact occurred, and was not a dream that either of them had concocted to fulfill their own needs. It was unwelcome because some things needed to be discussed.

Relena’s mood changed the moment Heero began to outline just what Garter had been up. She began to feel sick as she stared at the pages of accounts, checks, and emails that Heero had recovered.

“How did this happen?” Relena asked, “how could I have let this happen.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Heero said, “he was very good at covering his tracks.”

“Do you know how much money he’s stolen?” Relena asked, “if this is discovered.”

“You would be implicated,” Heero said, “and at best your political career would be over.”

“Then why kill me?” she asked, “why go through the trouble.”

“Insurance that you were really gone,” Heero said.

“So that is why you left?”

“I had to get the last of this, but yes, this was why I left. Garter was making threats towards you and it would’ve been easier for you if I laid low until I had the evidence I needed.”

Relena laughed.

“I’m such a fool,” she said, “I thought his offer was a bit suspicious. It came the day Hayworth turned me down as the next Foreign Minister. It was an odd coincidence.”

“Relena,” he said, rested a hand against her back, “you’ll be fine. We’ll get out of this. You haven’t lost yet.”

“How did I not catch it,” she said, “I thought I didn’t trust anyone but I trusted him with so many things. I’m still so naive.”

“Well, we’re not going to let him win,” Heero said, “we know this game. If we expose him beforehand it could be possible to do so and still salvage the campaign in a quiet way.”

That did not sit well with Relena, she was running on a platform and transparency, but she pushed that aside for a moment. First they had to take care of Garter. The potential political ramifications would be dealt with later.

“So now that you have this, does that mean you’ll come back with me,” she said.

He pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Yes,” he said, “unless you want me to leave.

She smiled.

“Never.”


	13. Chapter 13

Relena rehearsed her possible confrontation with Garter a hundred times in her head. She was still uneasy but what would have to happen after that. She saw no way out for the money scandal. Garter and the people who he worked for could be blamed for the attacks, but the stealing of money would reflect on her. As it should. 

She tried not mentally berate herself too much. What’s done was done. She had to handle the consequences to the best of her ability. Hopefully there would still be a place for her when all was said and done.

However, upon their return to the Capitol they found that Garter had already left, leaving the entire campaign office in a flurry of activity.

“He just walked out right after you left Miss Relena,” Sabriella said, “and he hasn’t come back since.”

Relena heard Heero grumble under his breath. 

This was a problem, but not that hard of one to solve. She turned to Heero.

“Heero, go to Une and present the evidence to her about the attacks,” she said, “you can talk with her about the stolen money, but please press her to be a discrete. We don’t want the press involved.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, “letting more people in could open up the risk of it leaking.”

“It is a chance we have to take,” she said, “also by disclosing it to the Preventers we are dodging accusations of covering it up. The attacks will and should be the focus of their attention. I’ll meet with Dorothy and discuss our options. I am sure she has a few strings she can pull. Sabriella, I need you to organize a balance sheet for the campaign. We need to assess the full damage.”

“Right,” Sabriella said though she still looked a bit confused.

 

Some things were easier to organize in peace. The Preventers went right into action, putting out alerts to agents worldwide to be on the lookout for Garter.

“There are only so many cracks he can slip through,” Une said, “he’ll make a mistake somewhere.”

Heero amped up the presence of security at the campaign office and at all events. Relena cut back a bit, though they still ran ads, just in case there was any way to salvage the campaign.

Dorothy and Relena had poured through the books and all accounts.

“Well the good news, is that he didn’t steal _that_ much,” Dorothy said, “it is possible to repay most of the stolen funds through insurance. It is however substantial enough to cause problems.”

Relena was quiet.

“Is there anyway we can reveal this and stay in the election.”

“Do we have to reveal it,” Dorothy said, “you said so yourself, the attacks will be the focus. We will quietly reimburse donors for the stolen funds and keep going. We have a good platform Relena, we can’t lose now.”

“I can’t lie,” she said, “this is my fault. Even if I had said no to Garter in the beginning, there should have been oversight.”

“You’re too good, Relena,” Dorothy said, “You’re a great mediator, but you still have a bit to learn when it comes to being shrewd. You being elected will do more for the world than revealing this to the public and fostering even more distrust.”

Relena doesn’t answer.

She waited until later in the evening to talk to Heero about it.

“I told you when I asked you to come with me. You were going to keep me honest, making sure I didn’t stray,” she said, “if I covered it up would I be going the wrong path, even if it is for the greater good.”

“I can’t answer that,” he said, “that’s more your expertise. But you’ve never betrayed yourself before, I don’t think I have to tell you not to now.”

They are silent.

“Whatever it is you do decide,” he said, “I’ll be with you.”

She put her hands to his cheeks and thanked him by touching her lips to each side of his mouth. Still reveling in the closeness, it was the only thing she really clung to in this whole mess.

“What’ll you do when this is over?” she asked, “looking at it now, it is doubtful that I’ll be president.”

“I don’t know,” he said, “it all depends on you.”

She leaned into him and just relaxed into his warmth.

She didn’t even register something was wrong until Heero slammed her into the ground. She didn’t hear the gunshot or the sound of broken glass from her window. 

Heero quickly looked up through the window and out at the building next door.

“Where did it come from?” Relena asked, she was shaking underneath his body.

“From the roof of the building next door. Listen stay here and stay down,” he said.

“What are you going to do?” Relena asked.

“I’m going to end this.” 

With that he was up and running, and Relena thought for one terrible moment that the sight of his back as he left would be the last time she ever saw him.

 

It felt like it took forever for Heero to cross the street to the building next door. The bottom level of the building was a parking garage and when he entered it Heero knew something was wrong. The lights were dim, and there were no cars parked in it for one. 

He stopped for a moment, and pulled out his sidearm and kept it up.

It looked like he wouldn’t have to go to the roof after all. 

“I should’ve figured it was you,” Garter said coming from the shadows pointing a handgun straight at Heero. A sniping rifle was tied to his back. So it turned out Garter was the lone gunmen in this case. Garter fired a shot and Heero ducked behind a concrete column.

“I’m not surprised either,” Heero said, “you’re not even competent enough to get the job done right.”

“Well, I figure I’ll have to kill you first,” Garter said, “get rid of the in between.”

Heero ducked out from behind the column but he couldn’t see Garter from where he was standing.

“I think you’re rusty boy,” Garter said, “age catching up with you?”

Heero crept out slowly, pointing which way. Quite a few of the fluorescent lights were flickering and it was playing with his vision. Garter might be right, he was a bit rusty.

He caught a flash of movement to his left and quickly turned that way. It was then he felt a sting on his wrist and the gun slipped from his hands falling just out of his reach. He turned and looked to see Garter approaching him.

And then a moment later, he felt something pass through him.

Bile began to rise in Heero’s throat. No this wasn’t it.

“To think, the great Pilot 01, would be reduced to this,” Garter said, “a bit sloppy.”

Heero felt to his knees and then to his stomach. He’d gotten sloppy. The only thing he had been thinking of was how close that bullet had been to her, how she could’ve died. So he had rushed, he hadn’t been cautious and thus underestimated the threat Garter had posed to him.

“Shall we finish you off then?”

Garter raised the gun and pointed it directly at Heero.

Heero closed his eyes and wait for the gunshot to come.

_Relena._

He heard the shot fired, but when it didn’t hit him he opened his eyes. Garter was on the ground and Heero heard the clicking of heels on then saw them as they rushed over and kicked the gun away from Garter’s hand.

“What,”

“Heero?”

Relena bent down and propped him up on her shoulders.

“Relena.”

“Are you okay?” she asked her voice worried.

“Obviously not,” he said, the blood in his mouth slurred his words.

“Just hang in there,” she said, “I called Une, people are on their way.”

He looked up at her and slowly reached a hand up.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t you dare,” she scolded, “don’t you dare say that. Don’t leave me. Not now.”

He reached a hand up to touch her face. Her tears mixed with his blood and he flinched as the pain set in, but he kept his eyes on her.

“I love you.”

And with that Heero Yuy died.

 

Relena walked along the shore, staring out into the horizon. It was the same beach that all those years ago she had had a chance encounter that were alter her life drastically. It was also the first moment Relena had had to herself in weeks. Everything had been a blur since Garter’s attack. There had been so much to be done, paperwork to be filed, arrangements to be made.

But now she was finally free.

After a long talk with Dorothy, Relena realized she couldn’t continue and suspended her bid for the presidency indefinitely. To not be honest, to not uphold herself to the standard that she asked of everybody else would’ve been something that she wasn’t able to live with. However, by a stroke of luck her honestly had allowed her to keep her reputation. It would take a while to repay the donors to cover up for the stolen funds but it was start. And it allowed her the hope of trying some day in the future.

She gazed out at the end of the shoreline and sighed.

“Any regrets?”

She turned and smiled.

Standing just a few feet away, was Heero Yuy, wearing a white button up shirt and black slacks.

“You’re late,” she said.

“They wouldn’t let me out,” he said, “even though I insisted I was fine.”

“I don’t think they understood that you’ve suffered worse,” Relena said, “but I think you were faking.”

“I can’t have people suspecting my identity now can I,” he said.

“No, I suppose not, but don’t go thinking that just because you’re a gundam pilot that you don’t need rest, anyone else having gone through what you did would be dead,” she said.

They are silent. They would never talk about how close he came, or what had transpired that evening. That was over and in the past, Relena had to focus on other things.

“So what now?” he asked her, knowing full well that she would be the one to take the lead.

“I talked to the President,” Relena said, “The office of Foreign Minister is mine if I want it. There’s still time to arrange it before the next president is inaugurated.”

“So will you take it?” Heero asked.

“I was thinking about it, but this campaign has shown me that I still have a lot to do,” she said, “and a lot to learn. I realized that I was going through all this because I felt that I had to. To protect a world that you could live in. But that had counted on me being separated from it, to the point where I didn’t understand it.”

She took in a deep breath.

“I love you, and I don’t want war to break out ever again, but I can’t do that,” she said, “I can’t hold that obligation on my own. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said.

“I think I still want to be President,” she said, “I still have those plans, but I think…I think I need to live in the world before I lead it.”

She turned to him and smiled.

“And so should you,” she said, “I want to live in this world with you. Not above you, and not separate from you. Can you do that. Can you live in this world with me?”

He ran a finger through her hair.

“Mission accepted.”


End file.
